Raven in the Fog
by KuraiShinzo
Summary: Kalendrakk:Born evil, he has been wanted dead since he drew his first breath. Nearing his twentieth birthday, his only ambition is to kill. Alison Destra:Born into royalty, the Princess knows nothing of Kalendrakk..or what she has to do with his fate.
1. Chapter 1

A/N**- **well, for those of you who asked for it, here is Kal and Allie's story! I hope you like it! )**  
**

**Prologue**

**Two months after Paris**

"Elizabeth, ange, what do you have there?"

Elizabeth looked up and smiled at Gabriel, holding up the thick book. "Do you remember when Kal and Allie said they would send us their story?"

Gabriel's eyes brightened. "Is that it?"

Elizabeth nodded yes. "Shall we read it, or do you have other plans?" she joked.

Gabriel sat down next to her on the library couch. "I seem to have today free."

Elizabeth smiled up at Gabriel. It seemed so long since she thought him dead….and in a way, it was. Sometimes days passed like weeks, and weeks; days. It didn't matter, anymore, though. As long as they were with each other, they were content.

She leaned against his shoulder and he put his arm around her. Sometimes, she heard him wake in the middle of the night, calling her name. She suspected he still dreamt of that awful week they went through two months ago, where they both thought the other dead. Sometimes they both just needed to be near the other.

Elizabeth set the book between her and Gabriel and opened the book; the cover was black. They both let their eyes drink in the title before turning to the first page of their friends' story. It was a story that held much pain, and many nightmares, and, unlike their own, didn't end with "and they lived happily ever after."

But, like all stories, it had a beginning, and Alison and Kal had had the good humor to start it off as all faery tales should.

This is the story of Alison Destra and Kalendrakk.

Once upon a time….

_**Raven in the Fog**_

_** -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
**_

**In the mountains, North America, 1857.**

The little boy scrubbed viciously at him hands, trying in vain to scrub the blood off of them. As he stood waist-deep in the stream, more blood, his own, sluggishly fell down his back and into the icy water, making red scarves wave and dance across the surface. They stung with every movement he made, though, below his waist, his legs were numb.

The water was so cold.

His eyes stung as he stopped scrubbing his hands, just letting them hang limply in the water, suspended like they weren't really attached to his arms.

The boy's eyes stung as they filled with tears; his mind filled with something just as horrible, but, unlike with tears, he couldn't blink to make them leave.

His family…the village…everyone…slaughtered. Gone. Dead. His mother's blood still lingered in his nose.

The boy rubbed a hand hastily over his eyes, and looked down into the stream. A small face looked back at him, eyes looking into the water.

His eyes…they were always unusual. One an unnaturally pale purple, the other an inky black. His hair, short, black, and tangled with leaves and twigs, stuck out in odd directions.

The boy slapped the water fiercely, making the stream loose its mirror-like quality.

"I'll kill them for what they did," the boy whispered. If anyone was there to hear him, they would have paled at hearing such venomous words come out of a four-year-old's mouth. They were dripping with spite, and yet, the boy did not seem to be realize he was saying them.

"I'll kill them all."

**------------------------------ -------------------**

**France, 1872**

**15 years later.**

Alison smiled ecstatically as she sat on the stone wall. A light breeze, carrying mist, played across her face. The sun was high above her, washing everything in bright light. Her dark blonde hair was matted from the mist the breeze was throwing at her, but she didn't care. Nor did she care that her dress was getting damp from sitting on the wall near the harbor, or her shoes were coated in damp sand.

_I'm free! Finally, no lessons, no parties, just me relaxing by the_--

"Alison Destra!" the voice, like a guillotine, cut through her peaceful daydream, snuffing it out quickly and efficiently. Alison straightened in her chair, wincing as she looked down at the needle-point she was supposed to be working on. The needle had pricked her finger while she was drifting, and now bright drops of crimson dotted the rather shoddy embroidery of an iris.

"How many times must I tell you--"

"A lady never lets her mind drift," Alison finished tiredly, fighting to keep her face emotionless, while she wanted nothing more to shout at the wrinkly, sharp-eyed old hag whom her parents had hired to teach her "proper etiquette". Where do needle-points fit in with manners? she thought crossly.

"Do not be smart with me, Mademoiselle Destra." Madame Lark, her etiquette teacher, shuffled across the room to examine her needle-point. "Oh, you've gone and ruined it! Not that there was much to ruin in the first place; the stitches are much too loose, and the thread have gone awry in places--"

"And I suppose it doesn't matter at all that I hurt myself?" Alison grumbled, interrupting Madame Lark's criticism.

"Oh. Very well, you are excused to get a bandage."

Alison got up, letting the needle-point fall onto the floor. "Why, thank you! I really needed to have permission to leave, even though this is _my house_!" She slammed the door behind her as loud as she could, then stormed off to her room, which was down the hall.

"House", actually, was a misinterpretation; it was actually a castle. Not a gigantic, beautiful castle, like the ones in faery tales, but a castle, none the less.

Alison reached her room and slammed that door, too.

_Why do I even need an etiquette teacher? I'm already seventeen! They should have bothered raising me properly as a child, not try to fix me as a teenager!_

During the period when Alison was growing up, her parents were never around. The were always traveling some place or another. When she would ask her nurses where they were, they would always stammer that her mother and father were on "business trips". These usually lasted from three weeks up until a month, and, when they did return home, they always ignored her. So, she grew up in the company of her servants and her friends.

Her friends were closer to her than siblings; they would always listen to her, and always offer their opinion when she had a problem. They grew up together, meeting at the age of five, and forming their own group that lasted into the teenage years of seventeen.

There were five of them, counting Alison. There was Kelly, Melanie, Keith, and Jordon.

Kelly had waist-length red hair that fell into long curls around d her oval face. She had pale skin and dark freckles, with large green eyes. She had a rather cat-like appearance, and was the most sympathetic one in their group.

Melanie had wavy brown hair that she kept jaw-length. Her hair , along with her dark complexion and dark eyes, came from her father, who was Spanish. She was short, but extremely feisty, and usually got all of them into trouble y picking fights with the village boys.

Keith was tall and gangly, and always walked with his shoulders hunched. Her had straight brown hair that was always falling into his grey eyes that were framed by silver spectacles; he had horrible vision. He was the calmest of the group.

And then there was Jordon. Every group had a practical joker, and that was him. There was always a grin on his face, and his short black hair always looked spiky and unkempt, despite the three girls' attempt to make it fall straight. His eyes were a light hazel flecked with green, and were usually sparkling with some sort of mischief.

As the group reached their respective seventeenth birthdays, Kelly and Keith began courting each other. Jordon soon fell for Melanie afterwards, and that left Alison the only one without a significant other. On some days, it frustrated her, but on others, the days when her mother or father introduced her to some money-grubbing Lord or Duke or Prince, all with some egotistical flaws or just interested in her money, she was extremely glad of it. Why would she need some idiotic man to court her, just so she would fit in?

Snapping back to her current situation (which was her finger bleeding on her dress), she dug a length of cloth out of one of her drawers and wrapped the tip of her finger with it.

Merde_. Now somebody will yell at me for getting my dress dirty._ She tossed her hair angrily. _So what if they did? Let them waste their breath_. Today, she wasn't going to listen to anybody. She'd had enough. It was time for a break.

She strode out of her room with her head held high, icy-blue eyes flashing. In the precious few hours she had managed to sneak outside, every week or so, her skin had become a shad darker, and her light freckles had begun to stand out. She hated them. They made her look like she was just entering her teen years, instead of becoming close to leaving them.

Alison stopped at a door, staring at the brass knob. It was always locked, her parents made sure the servants locked it. Alison had idea what it might lead to; a secret room, maybe, or perhaps something else. Whatever was behind that door, she knew it was something her parents didn't wish for her to find, and that was all the intent she needed.

She wanted to know what was behind that door.

Alison reached out and turned the knob…

…and to her disappointment, it didn't turn. Not even an inch.

Sighing, she left the door and returned to her room; her need to roam around had faded, and she might as well finish the book she had started to read. Madame Lark could sit in that room until nothing remained of her but a skeleton, because there was no way she was going back.

--------------------------------------------------------------

He walked along through the forest, whistling despite the fact that it was drizzling out. It was a gloomy day, even more so under the cover of the trees. As much as he liked such gloom, he despised the rain. It made his bones ache, like the cold. His right leg and arm were throbbing particularly painfully, as they were the body part he injured most frequently. His leg had been broken three times in the same place; his arm, four. His heart was also aching worse than usually; he had been shot twice in it when he was a child.

The rain soaked his waist-length black hair and his breeches. He had lost his shirt years ago, and the breeches were now too short for him, ending three inches above his knees. The uncovered skin was a patchwork of deep scars that he had earned over the last fifteen years. There was a thick leather bag strung over his shoulder on a string, and it bounced slightly from side to side as he walked at as brisk a pace as his bad leg would allow.

On his other shoulder a large raven was perched. It had a distinct white feather on its head, standing out boldly against the black. It cawed to him, and anyone else listening in would have heard only that. He, though, being a raven demon, understood the bird as clearly as if it had spoken French. _Kal, where are you headed this time?_

Kal looked at the raven slyly out of the corner of his eyes. His eyes always drew attention: one was an unnaturally pale purple, and the other was a black so dark that you couldn't distinguish the iris from the pupil. "Somewhere," he replied simply. His voice was a deep baritone, and even when he was trying to sound happy, it carried undertones of anger.

_Oh dear. Who are you going to kill _this _time?_

Kal smiled, revealing sharp fangs. "Who ever said anything about anyone dying?"

_That look on your face did._

"What look was it? This look?" He dropped the simple illusion he usually wore, and his tanned skin became an inky black, the same tone all over. The whites of his eyes glowed blood-red, and his fangs lengthened by an inch.

_Precisely_, the raven said dryly. Kal grinned again and replaced the illusion, giving him the appearance of looking almost-normal, if you didn't notice the leaf-shaped ears under his hair. He continued on with limping through the forest, resuming his whistling once more.

_That's it. I'm leaving. _ The raven leaped off of his shoulder and disappeared above the tree-tops.

Kal chuckled softly to himself. It was typical of the raven to do that. He always flew to carnage, but flew away from battle. _Maybe it's the thing that people have…what's it called again? Oh, yes. A conscience. So odd._

Suddenly, the forest ended, a castle replacing the trees.

_Here it is._ Kal knelt down and dug a shallow hole at the base of a tree, putting the leather sack in it and then covering it with dirt. After he finished, he strode cockily up to the castle gate and knocked them down with a slight push, to the surprise f the guards who rushed at him. Obviously they had never heard of demon's superior strength. Or his, for that matter, since it out-matched any demons by tenfold.

"You! Halt!" one of them shouted.

"I'm halting," he said conversationally. He had only taken a few steps into the castle grounds in the first place. After burying his sack, he had dropped his illusion once again, so is understood the fear in the guards' eyes quite well. After all, who wouldn't be a bit disturbed by a six-and-a-half-foot demon that looked the way he did? "I'm here to see the Lord."

The guards each grabbed on to a forearm and began to march him towards the castle. Kal could have easily shaken them off and thrown them head-first into the stone wall, but he allowed himself to be guided into the castle. After all, it was part of his plan.

The guards release him as he entered the Lord's meeting room. He was a thin, middle-aged man with graying brown hair, dressed in expensive clothing.

"Bow down, " one of the guards ordered him, but Kal only took a step forward toward the Lord and smiled slyly.

"Forgive me, bur no-one rules me, so I bow down to no-one," Kal explained. "Especially not to a foppish, money-grubbing Lord who is most likely the product of bastardy." Behind him, the guards gasped, and the Lord's face darkened dangerously.

"How dare you insult me, Kalendrakk," the Lord growled.

Kal's smile grew broader, though it had no happiness in it. "So you know of me. How nice. I don't know of you, but I do know of your daughter. How old is she now, seventeen? A fine age. Pity I'm going to gut her like a pig and then swallow her heart while it's still beating, eh?"

"How--how dare you--" the Lord sputtered. "Guards! Throw him in the dungeons at once!"

Kal never stopped grinning as the guards resumed their grip on his arms and took him out of the room. He would kill them, of course. But not yet.

So far, everything was going exactly as he planned.

---------------------------------------

Alison watched in mild curiosity as the demon buried a bag or something at the base of a tree, then strode up to the castle and broke down the gates.

_Huh. I wonder what he wants, _she wondered. She had always been interested in demons and faeries and the like, ever since she was a child. Maybe it was because they were so different form humans. And much more interesting than some, if you considered dull old hags--or respectable elderly ladies, as everyone else would think of them as-- like Madame Lark.

Now two of the guards grabbed onto the demon's arms and were brining him into the castle. It was a rather funny thing to see, as the demon stood at a over a foot higher than the guards.

After they entered the castle, Melanie walked through the ruined gates, pausing briefly to examine them. Alison caught her eye (her room over-looked the courtyard) and waved. Melanie waved back, then continued the rest of the way. A few minutes later, she walked into Alison's room, not bothering to knock. "What happened?" was the first thing she said.

"Hello to you too, Mel!" Alison grinned from her chair next to the window.

Melanie, called Mel for short. Took a seat on Alison's bed. "So, what happened?"

"Oh, just a demon. He knocked down the gates. I suspect he's in the castle as we speak."

Melanie blinked, the laughed. "Oh, very funny, Allie!"

"I'm not joking."

"Of _course _you're not," Mel said sarcastically, then looked at Allie's face again. "You're not, are you?"

"Nope."

"Then how can you be so calm!"

"The demon has an escort."

Melanie shuddered. "I pity his escort. Aren't you the lest bit scared that he'll break loose and get you?"

Allie shrugged. "I guess not. Why would a demon have any interest in me?"

Melanie smiled evilly. "Well, there _has _been an awful lot of suitors coming to court you recently…"

"Ugh! That's _disgusting_, Mel! If I don't have any interest in human boys, why would I fall for a _demon_?"

Mel shrugged innocently. "You've always been a little odd."

"That's it! You are going to pay!" Allie leaped out of her chair and grabbed a pillow from her bed. "Die!" she yelled, then began bludgeoning Mel over the head with the pillow.

Mel shrieked and held op one hand to ward Allie off, then grabbed a pillow for herself and began fighting back. She soon gained the upper hand, and Allie fell to her knees and put her hands in a praying gesture. "I surrender, Oh Great Mel!"

Mel tossed her pillow onto the bed, placing on hand on her hip and pointed down at Alison with the other. "Grovel!"

Allie began bowing from her spot on the floor. "Oh, how I worship thine greatness! Please, spare my unworthy self! _Spare_ me!" Then she placed one hand over her forehead and collapsed onto her side in a mock-faint.

Breaking into giggles, Mel offered Allie her hand. "You may rise."

Allie grasped the hand and pulled herself up, brushing off her skirt. Mel looked down and noticed the few drops of blood for the first time. "Ouch. What did you do to yourself this time?"

"Pricked my finger while attempting embroidery." Alison held up the bandaged finger In explanation.

"Disaster Destra strikes again, eh?"

Allie giggled at her childhood nickname. "I'm afraid so." She paused at the sound of footsteps, then a door being opened. Curious, she peeked out of her bedroom door in time to see a door close. It was the door that was always locked.

Mel appeared next to her, a moment too late. "What?"

"I think somebody just went into that room."

"Oh. Well, I guess they've already locked it now. I wonder what's on the other side?"

"Yeah." Alison stared thoughtfully at the door. "I wonder, too."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N- I don't have anything interesting to say…..

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Allie groaned and rolled out of bed, narrowly avoiding tripping over a stray pillow. What time was it? She had first though around nine, the time she usually woke up, but the sun streaming in from her windows and the clock told her otherwise. It was nearly one o'clock in the afternoon.

How she could have slept though all the light that was almost directly on her pillow, she had no idea.

Yawning and wiping the sleep out if her eyes, she made her way to the bathroom, dipping a cloth in cold water and washing her face with it. That helped wake her up some.

Then Allie caught sight of herself in the mirror, and was frozen in utter terror. See, she was one of those teenager girls who are extremely conscientious about their looks. And, currently, her dark blonde hair was snarled and stuck up oddly on one side, and there were dark bags under her blue eyes, which were bloodshot.

_Oh God, I look like the living dead! _ She set down the wet cloth and went about her morning routine, brushing her hair and securing it behind her in a long braid, then putting on the dress one of her maids had set out for her. By the time Allie had finished, she felt awake and better. At least she looked normal.

Leaving the bathroom, she caught sight of a note on her vanity table. Unfolding it, she recognized Kelly's writing.

_Bonjour Allie! I came by, but you were sleeping like the dead. Do you realize that you snore? Anyway, all of us are planning on meeting in the forest today, at the pond. Try to sneak out at around one o'clock!_

_Kelly._

Allie put the note back down on the table, dropping to the floor and digging around under it for her shoes. _I don't snore, _she thought ._Aha! _She quickly pulled on her shoes and then exited the room as quietly as possible.

She glanced at the door as she left her room. Was it just her imagination, or was it opened ever-so-slightly?

Well, it can't hurt just to check. She walked up to the door and pulled on the handle. The door swung open easily, revealing a long stone staircase. Not surprising, as her room was on the third floor of the castle, but who would lock to door to keep people away from a staircase?

_Well, obviously they're, meaning your parents, want to keep the ROOM from being entered. God, Allie, you're so simple!_

_Give me some credit, I just woke up! _She whined to herself, and began to descend the staircase. It took a long time; the stairs seemed to wind down forever! The way was lit by torches stuck in brackets. By the way they were burning, she guessed that they had been left there for a while.

When she finally did make her way to the bottom, her foot snagged on the hem of her dress and she lurched forward, managing to skid a good deal across the stone floor.

Well, at least there was no-one to see that, she thought gratefully, brushing herself off and standing up.

The room was small, bare except for a row of bars. Cells? She couldn't see if anyone was in them; oddly enough, nearly-opaque fog prevented her from seeing past the bars. She lost interest in the weird fog as she examined the walls. Whips hung from hooks, along with a few other assorted weaponry, from daggers to spiked flails. They all looked rusty with abandon.

She was so interested with the old weapons that she almost missed the soft, cruel laughter that was coming from behind the bars and fog. "Who's there?" she asked.

"Careful Princess," a quiet, deep voice said. "You might break your pretty little neck." The voice was male, she could tell that much. It had undertones of malice and cold amusement.

And that was enough to frighten her into leaving; the combination of disembodied voices, weapons, and weird fog didn't sit well with her.

The cold laughter followed her out.

---------------------------

"What took you so long?" Mel asked when Alison trotted up to them. She, along with Kelly, Keith, and Jordon were sitting on the rocky edge that led down to the pond. It wasn't a long way down, only seven feet or so. On hot days, they would sometimes dive into it.

"I had to avoid my mother. She's in a bad mood today."

"We saved you some food," Keith told her, pointing to the basket behind them. Allie pounced on it and began digging through the contents; she hadn't had breakfast yet, and felt as if she could devour an entire horse.

"What happened to you?" Allie asked Mel as she wolfed down some bread. A dark purple bruise framed her friend's eye, and her lower lip was split.

Mel grinned devilishly. "Just had some fun at the village yesterday. Teaching the men their place."

Jordon shook his head. "And luckily, it seems I don't need any teaching in that category."

"Yet," she tossed at him. Keith laughed and looked over at Kelly.

"Are you going to beat me up as well?" he asked her.

"Hmmm…let me think on that." Kelly tapped her chin with her finger for a moment, the said "No. It would be unfair to hit a person with glasses."

"Are you making fun if the glasses?" Keith accused her, trying to keep his face straight.

Jordon leaned over and snatched them off of his face. "don't do that; you might hurt it's feelings!" He dangled them tauntingly in the air, silver frames catching the light. "Catch, Allie!" He tossed them over to her and she barely caught them before they could fall over the edge. She put them on and squinted. Everything took on the appearance of being seen through thick glass.

"Well, what do you think? Do I look more intelligent?"

Kelly grinned. "Somewhat…let me try!" She took them from Allie and put them on, then stood up, making sure to back away from the edge. Kelly walked around with her shoulders hunched forward, pushing the glasses higher up the edge of her nose when they slipped, making a rather good impression of Keith. They all laughed and clapped approvingly before Keith got up and snatched them away, settling them on his nose.

"I'm glad you find me so amusing."

"Not as half as amusing as Disaster Destra!" Jordon called out.

"Hmm?" Allie mumbled through a mouthful of food. She swallowed it hastily. "What? How am I amusing?"

Mel stood up, turned around, the tripped over her foot and fell face-down into the dirt, breaking her fall with her hands.

Allie rolled her eyes. "Hey, I can't help it if I trip once in a while."

"Every week," Kelly corrected.

"No, every day," Jordon said.

Mel went back to her spot, brushing some dirt off of the front of her dress. "I think every two hours is a safe bet."

They all laughed at that, even Allie, though a bit grudgingly.

"So, what's this we're hearing about a demon?" Keith asked, looking at her intently. "I heard that he knocked down the gates."

Allie shrugged, the memory of the soft laughter coming back for an instant. "I don't know any more than you do, really. I guess he just left."

"Odd, though, that some random demon would choose your home to come to, huh?" Jordon said. "What did it want?"

"I don't know," Allie admitted. "I saw him hide something before he broke the gates."

"Really? What?" Mel leaned forward.

"Not sure...I think it was a bag of sorts."

" Well then…let's go find it, shall we?" Jordon stood up. "you do remember where he hid it?"

Allie thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. He buried it at the base of a tree. The one right where the forest ends."

"I agree with Jordon; let's go see what it is!" Mel stood up, followed by Keith and Kelly, and then Allie.

Allie's mind drifted back to the room as they made their way to the tree at the edge of the forest. _Was there really a person there, or was it just my imagination? And what happened to the demon after it entered the castle?_

_--------------------------------------- _

The whip make a sound like a small twig breaking as it made contact with Kal's back. Again. Another red line opened up, adding to the abstract criss-cross of blood that had began to drip down onto the floor. The wound felt like lines of fire., but Kal ignored it. After all, compared to other injuries, these were nothing more than minor scratches. He had learned early on in life that the only was to survive was to shoulder the pain and move on. So, even if they were hacking away at him with an axe, he wouldn't show any discomfort whatsoever. The horse whip ripped another section away, the iron tip now dulled with red, and then the man stopped.

"Are you going to say anything now?" he asked Kal roughly.

Kal stood up from his bowed-over kneeling position on the floor, grinning manically and displaying sharp fangs. "No."

The man, probably some guard or another, backed out of the cell and closed the door behind him, locking it with a key that he later put in his pocket.

Kal sat down again after the guard left, leaning his head against the cool wall. The tacky blood on his back made it stick to the stone. Almost instantly, a thick fog appeared in his cell, making him impossible for any human to see. As he was a raven demon, he could see through the fog easily.

Humans…such incompetent bastards! he thought. Why do they even lock me up? They saw what I did to the gate. Even a demon with half a brain would know that a cage could never hold me. Kal could walk over to the bars, break hem like a brittle stick (or a human's neck), then walk out. Of course, that would ruin his plan. He had to give them the impression of being in control for another few hours…then he would kill them all.

Kal had planned everything out a few days prior. After being "captured" for roughly a day, enough time to make the Lord think he had finally caught Kalendrakk, he would leave his cell, then make his way to the library. There, he would take the information he needed (which consisted of various scrolls hidden under the floor). He would then set fire to the place, with the aid of the gas lamps, then wait outside for everybody to flee the castle. Once the Lord , Lady, and Princess ran out, he would slaughter them, to make sure that none of their bloodline survived. That was the most important part.

He knew, of course, that it would be so much easier for him to just storm the castle, then kill the three nobles, but this way was so much more amusing. To him, anyways. He liked to fool around with people's minds. And slaughter them. He was more fond of the latter, but the former was also fun.

Kal closed his mis-matched eyes contentedly and let his mind rest. He hated to sleep; it left him vulnerable, even though he slept very lightly. Since he was usually being hunted down by some demon or another, he had given up on sleeping altogether. He hadn't slept for three years now. Instead, he let his mind drift in a state between consciousness and unconsciousness, ready to become fully awake for a fight at any time.

_Maybe this is what they call "paranoid."_

_------------------------------------------ _

Allie sat cross-legged on her bed, long after her friends had left. The leather sack was next to her, and its contents spread out in front of her. To her and everyone else's surprise, it was nothing that they would have expected.

In the sack they had found a small book, filled with writing in an odd runes, and a stack of music sheets. The notes were hand written, and there were small, scribbled words in the same runes in the blank spaces. Lastly, there was a black book. It was hand-written in those runes, and had to be roughly two hundred pages. She flipped though it, looking at the odd, stick-like writing and wondering what it said.

When she was putting all of the things back into the sack, she heard a door close. She jumped off of the bed and hurried over to the door in time to see a guard close that door, the one that led down to the room.

He walked away. And didn't lock it.

Allie re-opened it and ran down the steps. It had been bothering her ever since she left. Se _had_ to know who--or what--was down there.

Half-way there, she heard whistling echoing up to the staircase. _Whistling? Another guard, maybe? _Allie continued on quickly.

When she reached the room, she froze. There was fog, and she could clearly see the demon from yesterday, casually leaning against the wall in the cell and whistling. Up close, she could see that his eyes were two different colors, his hair was tangled and knotted and he had long claws and fangs. The breeches he wore were faded, torn, and too short for him. Scars covered his inky-black skin, and there was dried blood on the floor of the cell.

He must have noticed her staring, because he stopped and turned his head to look at her. "You have my bag," he said bluntly.

"Oh." She looked down and saw that she was holding it. She hadn't even realized that she was. She stepped forward hesitantly and pushed it through the bars.

"A nosy little wench, aren't you?" He stood up to pick it up, and when he turned, she saw that his back was scabbed over with long gashes.

"W-what did you call me?" she asked, red creeping up onto her face.

"A nosy little wench. Why do you ask? Are you deaf as well as un-coordinated?" The demon glance sideways are her as he sat down. Allie thought he looked like he was enjoying her reaction.

"You _bas-_"

He cut her off with a flick of his hand. "Since when are nobles so vulgar? Alright, you've seen what you wanted to; leave."

She fumed silently. Who was he to insult her, then dismiss her? Then again he was in a cell. With an injured back. In _her _castle. "What is your name, then?"

He looked up at her sharply, and she let her gaze fall to the floor for a second. His eyes were like shards of ice. Ice that reflected hate and anger. She found herself wondering what had happened to him that made his eyes that way.

"Kal. Not that it matters any." He put the bag down next to him the continued with staring at Allie and making er extremely uncomfortable.

"Why not?"

"Because. Like I told your father, I'm going to gut you like a pig then swallow your heart. Whole. While it's still beating."

Allie felt her eyes widen in horror, then she turned on her heel and raced back up the stairs. Behind her, Kal resumed his whistling.

----------------------------------

Kal leapt to his feet as soon as her footsteps faded away. He slung the bag over his shoulder then lifted the door out of its hinges with his free and. Setting it down, he went the way the Princess had went, making it up the stairs quickly and as quietly as he could.

He opened the door a crack and looked into the hallway. No-one was coming, no-one was there. He slipped out and closed the door softly behind him, then turned left. The library should be in this wing… he had sensed its location from the Princess, using a form of telepathy he had inherited from his parents.

There it was…the two wooden doors with brass handles. He opened one then hurried into the library. In the middle of the large room was the marble pattern of a raven. An unusual thing to have on your library floor. Kal knelt down and dug his claws into a crack in one of the tiles, next to the raven's head. It lifted out easily, and under it was a small, dusty space.

And three scrolls.

He scooped them up and out them in the leather sack, not bothering to replace the loose tile.

_Kal, what are you doing?_ Death's voice sounded clear in his head; he was probably nearby.

**_-just having some fun-_** he thought back. He left the library, leaving the door open, Then he grabbed one of the gas lamps that was on the wall and dropped it on the floor. The small flame jumped from the wick and began to lick at the oil. The carpet would soon catch fire. He continued with another three, and then jumped down the flight of stairs that lead to the second floor, do the same to it. Then the ground floor. After he had finished, he went out into the courtyard. The sky, which had been sunny, had clouded over with heavy black storm clouds. It would rain soon.

Inside, he heard panicked screams_. The fire must be catching _, he thought. He faced the castle and waited for the people to start running out.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N-

Mouse- oh, there was definitely a reason (maniacal laughter).

----------------

Allie ran at her bedroom door, hitting it full-on with her shoulder. That, unfortunately, didn't result in anything except hurting herself. She was currently trying to force it open, as it seemed to be jammed by something from the outside. A beam? Allie had heard something fall; smoke seeped under her door and into her bedroom, giving it a burnt smell.

_Oh God, please don't let me die! _She thought frantically and she backed up to ram the door again. _Please, please, _please!

This time she felt the door give slightly. The wood was warm, and she could feel it even through the sleeve of her dress.

_Come on, come on, come on! _ She backed p almost to the window, and ran full-tilt at the door, this time meeting it with her heavy leather shoe. The impact traveled all the way up her leg to meet her hip, but the door banged open. A large wooden beam was jarred out of the way. Allie covered her nose and mouth with a cloth; in the hallway, thick, black smoke obscured everything, making her eyes water and her nose and mouth sting. She felt herself gagging, and closed her eyes until the nausea passed; she had always gagged easily. She was particularly sensitive to smoke.

Holding her breath as best as she could, she stumbled down the hallway, closing her eyes and relying on her hand n the wall to guide her.

_So this is what it's like to be blind. _Allie had thought she knew the castle like the back of her hand, but she was soon proved wrong. She deeply suspected that she had take n a wrong turn down a corridor, and had no idea where exactly she was. Allie opened her eye, then the smoke forced her to close them again. The crackle of burning paper ad wood didnlt make it easier for her to concentrate. The groaning of the beams over her head didn't help either…

_The groaning of the beams over my head…._

_Oh God._

_Allie took another hesitant step forward. This way. This way should lead to the staircase, which leads to the second floor._ Then there was a loud snapping sound behind and above her, and a large wooden rafter fell directly on her legs. She fell down like a felled deer, pinned from the knee down. The beam was uncomfortably war, and, when she looked behind, she could just barely see the charred wood laying over her skirts. _This is not good…_Allie dug her fingernails into the carpet, and attempted to wiggle out.

No such luck. The beam pinned her as easily it would a mouse, or some other meager creature.

And the smoke was so thick….Allie felt her mind starting to drift away, and she slapped herself. She _could not _loose consciousness!

_Princess!_

Allie jerked at the sound of the voice in her head. How….was she hallucinating?

_Princess! This may seems strange, but you have to trust me if you wish to get out alive! My name is Death's Flyer, and I'm a raven, so I will not do you any harm!_

Allie blinked. _A.. raven…?_ Everything seemed so slow, so dream-like…the uncomfortable warmth of the fire seemed so nice and relaxing, now…

_Princess! If you want to get out alive, you ,must say this_: Kalendrakk Raee, save me! _Understood? Say it!_

Allie opened her mouth and coughed on a lungful of smoke.

_Say it!_

_Well…why not? It can't hurt any… _"Kal...endrakk--Raee…" she croaked out.

_The rest of it, Princess!_

"S-save…me," she whispered, then lost consciousness, the black smoke giving way to a deeper, more absolute blackness. It was nice, though. She didn't have to worry…just rest…

------------------

"Ahahahaha!" Kal's claws, long, black, and poisonous, slashed though yet another person's neck, cutting through the windpipe and spraying out a fine mist of blood, red as the flames that licked at the castle. The courtyard was already littered with his kills: servants, cooks, ground-keepers, guards…and, of course, the Lord and Lady. His torso was soaked with blood, not all of it belonging to the unfortunate victims. The guards had managed to shoot him three times: twice in his left shoulder, and once in his right side. The whip lashes on his back had broken open and were bleeding again. Kal didn't feel any of that, though. All he felt was the insane euphoria that filled him as he went on slaughtering the humans that ran out of the castle, fleeing the fire but meeting an end a thousand times worse than burning alive. Actually, that death would have been preferable to the many that were sprawled across the grass, their blood painting it crimson and their viscera slithering across it like pale snakes.

Kal's head jerked up as he felt a deep tugging sensation at the back of his mind. He ignored it and turned to face his next victim, a maid with her dress covered in ash, limping toward the broken gates.

Then the tugging became words.

_Kalendrakk Raee, save me._

Kal felt a growl rise in his throat, the limping maid being chased out of his mind. No-one knew his full name! No-one except…

"Death!" Kal yelled at the sky, where the raven was wheeling about. "Traitor!" He had recognized the sound of the voce immediately: The Princess.

He couldn't save her! She _had _to die!

He was still growling ferally as he ran back into the burning castle. His name had power over him; and if any-one with magical powers whatsoever used it…he had to obey.

That was why only the raven knew it. No-one else knew of its existence. They only knew his first name; the last belonged to his adoptive mother.

Whom he had killed on his sixth birthday.

Kal saw perfectly through the thick smoke, as he did with fog. His sharp Raven demon eyes made it seem like there was nothing but clear air.

He was forced to retrace his steps; up the first floor stairs…then the second floor stairs…then to the third floor, where he turned left. On the ground before him was the Princess, legs pinned b a large wooden beam, which he removed and tossed to the side, the way a human would with a scrap of paper.

The Princess seemed unconscious, but ( _unfortunately_, he thought) alive. Cursing that blonde wench and that idiotic raven, he scooped her up in his arms. Her bare neck brushed his forearm, and he let out a gasp in spite of himself.

The skin there immediately blackened , as if it had been burned by extremely hot fire. It was a million times for painful, though; even to Kal, who had grown so used to pain. It was worse than anything he had ever felt.

Kal looked down at the unconscious Princess's face. How he loathed her. How he longed, at that moment, to rip out her perfect throat. But of course, he couldn't. Death had seen to _that._

_Only when something with a pure soul touches one's who is mutilated and evil, does it leave a burn like that._

Kal, scowling bitterly, turned and went back into the main corridor, where he kicked the wall as hard as he could, venting the anger and hate that was building up in his veins like poison. The end result was a very large section of wall crumbling away into the courtyard, a debris of wood, plaster, and stone raining down on the dead.

Kal jumped out of the hole an spread his wings, flapping them and soon soaring high above the castle and carnage.

The Princess stirred in his arms as he flew under the storm clouds, mist soaking his blood-stained back and torso, making it run like eerie water-color paint. His icy eyes flicked briefly to her ash-stained face, and became even more hateful then they were when she had asked his name, the first time she saw him.

_You have no idea how much I hate you at this moment_, _Princess_, he thought silently.

_None at all._

_--------------------------------- _

Allie cried out as she bolted upright. The fire! I was trapped! The castle's burning-! Her confused mind clambered frantically around as she scanned the unfamiliar room. _Where am I?_

The room was small and made entirely of rough, cheap wood, the boards stained a rusty color she immediately recognized as blood. The walls were carved with deep groves, that she took as claw marks. At one and of the room was a primitive door, and she realized that this was a house, not a single room. In the far corner was a old, black stove, and next to it an ancient wooden chair. Resting on it was a familiar leather bag.

_Oh God! don't tell me that this is the demon's place!_ She looked down, noting the reason for her stiff back and neck was the fact that she was sleeping on a pile of old, raggedy blanket, each with a fair amount of holes. Her legs ached and throbbed painfully, and she highly doubted she could escape on them.

_Escape….that means that I'm being held captive! But the demon isn't here…_

The rough door opened, and the demon limped in, blood-stained and bearing bullet wounds. Behind him, she glimpsed trees, then he shut the door.

"Look who's finally decided to wake up," he sneered at her. Allie instinctively flinched.

"I- um…how long have I been…?" she managed to choke out. The demon, whose name, she suddenly remembered, was Kal, regarded her coldly.

"Since the day before yesterday." He limped over to the chair, tossing the bag onto the floor and sitting down.

"Well, I…er, thanks. For…saving me, you know." She felt rather odd , thanking Kal, who looked like he would very much like to be rid of her, but it would be rude not to.

"Don't bother, Princess." He looked at he, then at the door. "Leave any time you want. Please."

Allie blushed. "I don't think I can walk…my legs…"

Kal growled. She found herself thinking of a wolf in a trap she had seen once. It had growled at her the exact same way.

It was not the sound of something happy.

"You'll leave when you heal. The second you heal."

"Yes." Allie observed Kal. In addition to the bullet wounds, there was a horrible burn on his left forearm, and there was a deep scratch across his chest. Despite all that, he was powerfully built, yet tall and somewhat thin. He was at least six and a half feet, she guessed.

"What?" he snapped, and she realized that _he_ realized _her _realizing the fact he was really not that bad-looking…. For a demon with a very murderous in his freaky eyes. She shook her head.

"Nothing. I noticed you're inured, that' s all."

She saw him tense up at this. "Why ? Hoping that I'll fall over dead?" he spat famously. " That ain't happening any time soon, Princess, so you can throw that little day-dream away."

Allie blinked again, mildly startled by his outburst. "Uhh…I was actually wondering if you were alright, but…okay."

Kal narrowed his eyes at her and resumed glaring at the door. His body language cleary said "liar".

_Well, if that's what he thinks, fine_, she thought. "Where are we?" she asked Kal.

"In the middle of the woods," he replied, not bothering to look at her. "This is my house," he added as an afterthought.

"Oh. It's…nice."

Kal snorted. "It keeps the rain and snow off, so that's all that matters to me."

Allie shrugged. "You wouldn't happen to have any food, would you?"

Kal looked back at her and raised an eyebrow. "No." He seemed a little too amused at this fact for her liking. She sighed and leaned against the wall.

"What happened, anyway? You just brought me here?"

"After you made me rescue you, yes."

Allie dimly remembered a raven telling her to say something, and she supposed it was a spell or another that made Kal do said rescuing. "What happened to everyone else?"

"I killed them," he told her calmly.

"No, really. What happened? Did they all get out?"

"They did get out, but I killed them after they did."

"You're lying."

Kal grinned, flashing his fangs at her, like some crazy animal. "Does it look like I'm lying, Princess?"

Allie leapt to her feet, fully intending on throttling him. "You-!" she managed to get out, before her legs collapsed from under her.

Kal stood up and caught her by her upper-arms easily. "What were you going to do?" he asked her in a quiet, deadly voice. "Attack me? Maul me with your bare hands?" He knelt down in front of her, causing her to fall on her knees. Kal, she saw, was smiling. It was a dark, evil smile. "Well, why don't you?" he released her arms and brought her hand to his chest. She gasped as it touched him; the flesh her hand made contact with burned and pulled away, creating something that was part-burn and part open-wound.

"What is it, Princess? Isn't that what you wanted to do? Hurt me?" His eyes took in her horrified face. "Guess not. Too late though, now, isn't it? See this?" he dropped her hand, revealing the bleeding, charred skin underneath it. "Remember that any time you think of trying to attack me."

Allie closed her eyes tight. _What kind of monster _was _he? _ She didn't even open her eyes as she felt him lift her in his arm like a rag doll, then carry her over to the pile of blankets, where he set her down.

"I'll go and get you something to eat, Princess," he told her, then she heard his footsteps and the opening and closing of a door.

Allie opened her eyes and brought the hand that had burned him to her face. There was blood on it, red and sticky. She wiped it on her skirts, not even caring about the crimson streak it left.

_I burned him so badly… No, Allie, don't pity him! He killed…_everyone.

Allie curled up in a ball on her side feeling miserable.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N- Lots of people seems to be wondering about the raven Death…. I'll write down some stuff about him soon.

-----------------

The fog hung low over the burnt-out shell of the castle, turning it into a blurry, charred ghost, looming over the slaughtered bodies. They reeked they way only rotting corpses could, especially after three days in the summer heat.

Kal picked his way around the tangled mass of his kills, searching for one relatively undamaged. Maggots, white and squirming, writhed on the flesh of the dead, feasting away. Kal was used to this gruesome sight; it's a thing one gets used to after fifteen years or so of dealing with death.

Kal wondered about the numbers of his victims. _This makes…how many? Two hundred? More?_ He paused by the bodies of the Lord and Lady; each lay less than a foot away from the other. The Lady's attractive face was marred by five deep grooves, each going to the one. More maggots squirmed in theses grooves, some falling down her neck, like an eerie brace. Her mouse-brown hair was darker, caked from the roots onward with rusty blood.

The Lord lay facedown, though his eyes, what was left of them, looked up blankly at the sky, the neck snapped all the way around. His throat, or rather, lack of it, was a gaping, red mouth. His dark blonde hair, which his daughter had inherited, was in the same state as the Lady's.

Kal stared emotionlessly down at the two, then continued on his way. He felt no remorse, no guilt. He couldn't even remember such emotions. _I probably felt them after…after I killed Karen._ The memory of said incident, though as foggy and vague as the mist that was swirling around him, was never far from his mind.

"There we are…" Kal said out-loud as he stopped. Sprawled at his feet was the body of a male servant, whose clothes were relatively undamaged. Kal hooked his foot under the servant and rolled him over onto his back. The corps's arms and head lolled like a rag doll. . Kal guessed that he must've broken this one's neck, as there was not blood on the shirt.

Peeling the shirt off of the dead servant's body, Kal shook it free of maggots, then held it at arm's length in front of him. It would be a little too tight at the shoulders, since the servant had narrower shoulder than he, but that didn't matter much. Kal pulled it over his head, barely noticing the scent of rotting human, then took his leave of the courtyard.

_A bone yard now, really, _he thought absently as he stepped over a body that was blocking the exit.

Kal normally wasn't in the habit of taking the dead's clothes, but since he was going into the village, he would need a shirt. His scars were bound to attract attention. He could illusion his skin to appear a tan color that was common for farmers and peasants, but there wasn't a thing he could do to hide the scars. Magic didn't come easy to him; it was hard enough to change his skin color and the whites of his eyes. Conjuring fog was one of the abilities he was born with; he could do that since he was a newborn, since it didn't need any magical strength. Physical strength was the other. Even if he was a moment away from death, he was a thousand times stronger than any demon, and double that of any human.

Those who knew this kept their distance.

The others figured it out before he killed them.

He had inherited telepathy from his mother, but it wasn't very effective. He could sense thoughts if a person was near him; a few feet away, and he couldn't sense anything at all. _Like my father wrote down_, Kal thought, smiling wryly. _I'm built only to kill. A born killer. Evil._ Kal stopped that train of thought before it could reach the other part of that particular sentence.

_Built to kill…or to protect._

It wasn't long before Kal reached the village. Not many were out; the fog was the cause of that. But there was a small crowd here and there, moving slowly through the dirt streets. A few aimed some curious glances at Kal's grass-stained shirt, tattered breeches, and lack of shoes, but then moved on. After all, people dressed as he weren't uncommon. Kal kept his head lowered slightly so that they wouldn't see his different-color eyes. The black one was fine; the pale violet one would cause alarm.. Like his tangled, waist-length hair, that glimmered with barely-visible purple tints when the light struck it, his eyes were symbol. A symbol of death and a prophet long-forgotten by most of humankind.

The symbol of Kalendrakk, the last Raven demon.

Kal wandered down the streets, making the fog thicker and heavier as he went. Soon, the crowds broke up and went cautiously and slowly about retuning to their homes.

Kal lifted his head and sniffed the air. His acute sense of smell picked up dirt, garbage, fog, animals, the sickening stench of humans…and food.

A few yards ahead lay a bread shop. On the window were two loaves of bread, set out to cool. Kal grabbed them both and put them in the straw basket he had found outside someone's door. In the basket, someone had put half a dozen eggs.

_Alright then. Practically a meal. The Princess can't complain. At least I'm bothering to feed her._

Having what he came for, Kal checked that no-one was looking, then took off the shirt and put it in the basket as well. As soon as he did, his allowed his wings to sprout from his back. The fog made wet droplets of water gather on the fathers, which were as black as his skin and hair. The feathers, which many discovered the hard way, were as strong as steel and sharp as razors, a weapon like the rest of him. Due to this, the weight of the wings would have made any other collapse, and they certainly wouldn't be able to fly. That was one of the reasons for Kal's almost-limitless strength; without it, he would barely be able to walk five paces, let alone run, fly, and fight.

Kal flapped his lethal black wings and flew up, disturbing the fog and making in swirl around like phantom spirits. Soon, he was high above the village, basket in one hand, headed for the shack where the Princess was.

_Kal?_

He had only been airborne for a few minutes when Death's voice sounded in his head.

**_-what?- _**

_The Princess…I believe she is ill. She seems to be running a fever._

_**-so? why should I care about any of this?-**_

_Kal, please…won't you at least get her some medication?_

_**-no. she'll get better on her own-**_

_What if she doesn't?_

_**-then that's one less problem for me to worry about-**_

_Torelie would be disgusted with you,_ Death told him, obviously upset.

**_-DO NOT SPEAK HER NAME TO ME!-_** Kal exploded. The force of his mental shout would most likely cause the raven to wheel around disorientated for a while, but Kal didn't care at the moment. How dare that bird use his mother's…his biological mother's…name. The one who named him…who gave her son a name composed of two words of their language…she and his father as much condemned him as the humans did!

**_-shut up, shut up, shut up!-_** Kal continued to yell, not aware that Death had fallen silent a while ago. The blood red whites of his eyes glowed like hot embers as he dove out of the air. He was still a ways from the shack, he would know, had his rational mind not shut down. Kal began lashing out at the thick, ancient trees, some over a hundred years old, shattering their trunks with his free hand as easily as human did matchsticks. He was cursing at the top of his lungs in the tongue of Raven demons as he did so, shouting his throat hoarse. This continued for another minute before he finally stopped, breathing heavily in a ring of fallen trees. The back and knuckles of his left hand dripped blood, torn open from knocking down the trees.

Kal took a deep breath in and closed his eyes briefly, trying to gather himself, hiding the emotions he could feel behind his icy and pitiless eyes.

Then he turned and began walking in the direction of the shack, stepping over the broken trees oozing sap.

_You startled the Princess_, Death informed him hesitantly.

**_-gods forbid I do _that_-_** he replied sarcastically, wiping the blood off of his hand on his breeches. What did it matter? He didn't care what she thought, and he'd be rid of her soon. One way or another.

---------------

Allie flinched as she heard Kal screaming something in a foreign language and what sounded like trees crashing. What was wrong with _him?_

She brushed her hair out of her face and leaned against the wall. The lack of windows made the small house feel uncomfortably hot, though an occasional breeze filtered through cracks in the wall. Her head was starting to fell too warm, and, on top of everything, she was covered in soot.

There was the sound of soft footstep and Kal opened to door, carrying a basket. His breeches had a new streak of blood on them, and his left hand was bloody and torn.

"What happened to _you_?" she asked, not bothering to sound polite.

"Nothing." he told her simply, then set the basket down on the chair. Lighting some wood that was in the stove with an almost empty box of matches, he took two eggs from the basket and cracked them into a skillet that was on the stovetop. Allie's mouth watered at the smell of the food. She felt guilty for thinking about how hungry she was when the residents of the entire castle, including her parents, were murdered, but there wasn't anything she could do about that, was there?

Kal was whistling quietly under his breath as he prepared the eggs, then flipped them onto an old, cracked wooden plate. He grabbed a loaf of bread from the basket, then walked over to Allie and handed her both. "Here."

She took them after a pause. "Merci." She noticed that he didn't give her a fork or any utensil too eat the eggs with, then supposed that he didn't have any. She shrugged and ate with her fingers. No-one was there to criticize her, and she highly doubted that Kal cared about propriety.

As she ate, Kal put out the fire with a pitcher of water that was next to the stove, then sat down on the chair, after taking a book from the leather sack. Allie, glancing at it, recognized it to be the on with the plain black cover and the runes inside.

"Can you read that?" she asked. Kal flipped through the book, not looking at her.

"Maybe."

"What language is it written in? An what kind of alphabet?" _Curiosity killed the cat_, Allie thought to herself. _But satisfaction brought it back._

This time Kal did look at her, and she involuntarily flinched, for the second time. She didn't like his eyes…they were cruel eyes. Angry eyes. Like those of a rabid animal, or a dog that's been abused.

_And he certainly looks abused_, she thought, eyes flicking to the patchwork of scars that was his skin again.

"The language is the same that you head me cursing in not that long ago," he said, smiling slightly. "And the alphabet is Runic. Why does it matter to you, Princess? Planning on pawing through my belongings again?"

"I was just curious," she defended herself. She set the empty plate and the now-half a loaf of bread down, crossing her arms over her chest. "What are you, anyways?"

"Kal, like I've told you."

"I know that. I meant are you a demon."

Kal crossed his legs and arched an eyebrow. "Some call me that."

Allie rolled her eyes. _I guess that means "yes"._ "You live here, then?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes not." He put the book back in the bag and began staring at her.

Allie squirmed, wondering if he was trying to make her uncomfortable on purpose. If he was , he was definitely succeeding. "Your...hand." She said, changing the subject with the first thing that came to mind.

"What about it?"

"It's bleeding."

"Thank you for pointing that out, Princess."

"Are you alright? Because I could bandage it if you want."

Kal's body tensed, and he narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"Well, it looks painful, so-"

He cut her off. "It's nothing more than a graze, and I don't need your concern nor your pity." Kal seemed to relax a bit. "Aren't you acting oddly friendly to the thing that murdered your family?"

Allie fiddled with a lock of hair, a nervous habit of hers. "I can't do anything for them," she said. "They're dead, and nothing I can do will bring them back, so I figure why not help the people that need it?"

"You figure wrong. I don't need your help, any your in no position to suggest that I do. If you annoy me, which you are doing right now, I can kill you without a second's hesitation. Got it, Princess?"

Allie blinked in surprise. "What's happened that put you in such a bad mood?"

"You," he said shortly, then stood up and limped to the door. "I'm going out. Leave if you want, stay if you must. I don't care." He closed the door behind him. After a while, his footsteps faded away and Allie felt tired.

How can I be tired? I slept for three days! She though, and giggled. Using three of the blankets as a mattress and the other as a pillow, she lay down and closed her eyes. The blankets smelled faintly of smoke, feathers, and blood.

_How do I go from laying in my room one day, and in a demon's house on the floor the next?_

_----------------- _

Kal limped angrily through the forest. In what world did a human offer him concern? In what universe did a human offer him concern? In what dimension would one believe Kalendrakk was offered kindness?

None, that was the answer.

And he hated it. He hated the Princess for asking him, hated her for not dying like she was supposed to, hated her for the part she played in his father's prophecy.

He hated everyone, for that matter. Even Death, which was the closet thing that he could call a "friend." That raven had stayed with him ever since he was four, and showed nothing but concern for Kal, even after Kal killed his adoptive mother. And yet Kal still hated him. Why?

Maybe because I can't feel happiness…or kindness...or love...or any of those useless feelings. Hate's the emotion that's kept me alive all these years.

And I'll continue to hate. Sun, humans, demons, ravens…everything. I'll die hating, if I ever die.

Kal pressed his fingers to his temples. His thoughts were driving him insane, and all because of that damned Princess.

He stopped as a demon slithered out of the bushes. A snake demon, perhaps. It stood at ten feet tall, covered in dark green scales, and was vaguely human-like.

"You are not welcome here, Kalendrakk. Leave," it hissed.

Kal stared at it, hands clenching into fists. He wanted this demon to fight him, hw wanted it to hurt him. Kal wanted to loose his thoughts in a fight, having to think of nothing but delivering the next blow, dodging his opponents attack.

"Make me, bastard," he growled at the snake demon.

"I will, sssssincce you've asssked," it said, then rushed at him, baring needle-like fangs.

Kal raised his hands, long claws ready to attack the demon_. Now _this _I can live with._

_------------- _

At dark, Kal limped back to the house. After defeating the snake demon, he had continued on through the forest until he ran into a bat demon. After that, he found a spider demon. And after that, a shape-shifter. By the time the sun set, his chest and arms were riddled with new cuts, and there was a circular burn where the spider demon, who happened to be able to spit an acidic-like substance, had burned him. But he had vented his temper, and his mind was calm.

Opening the door, he found that the Princess was asleep. To his amusement, she snored softly as he watched. Smiling faintly, he closed the door and lay down on the floor, the cool wood feeling good against his back. He doubted he would sleep; he didn't want to sleep. He would most likely just close his eyes and wait for the sun to rise again, listening to the night.

Kal's breathing regulated as he lay perfectly still. The Princess sleeping a few feet away disturbed him; he was not used to having someone in the same room as himself.

_Maybe I should dump her outside_, he thought, then threw away the idea. _She'd probably just crawl back inside._

Kal's eyes flicked around under his lids as one of his memories surfaced, perfectly clear.

_A small raven hatchling was perched on a bleached skull. A human skull. It cawed at him loudly. _

A little raven demon? Why are you so far away from home, boy?

_"Don't got a home no more. The humans..."_

Oh. They raided the village, didn't they?

_He rubbed his eyes, as if that would stop him from crying. "They killed everybody."_

I'm sorry, raven boy, it croaked. My family also went to the afterlife, as well_. It quirked its head. _You're Kalendrakk, are you not?

_"No! Don't call me that! I'm Kal! KAL!_

As you wish. Kalen--- Kal. How old are you?

_"Only four...today's my birthday."_

Happy birthday, Kal.

_"Thanks... can you come with me? To the human village? I'll get lonely."_

Of course. Ravens and raven demons always stand together. Or, fly together, actually.

_"I can't fly yet, really. I'm too little."_

Well, good. Neither can I. You'll carry me?

_He brightened. "Yep. You'll be my friend?"_

How about mutual acquaintances?

_"Ummm... I don't know what that means, but ok."_

Kal frowned. That was so long ago…the mere fifteen years seemed like a century to him. Back then, he didn't have blood on his hands. He could still smile without bitterness in his soul. His heart didn't ache from the bullets of humans. He could still _feel._

_That's life, Kal. You're evil, you're a murderer, you're a heartless abomination--a Kalendrakk, if you will-- and that won't change. _

Kal rolled over on his side and smiled to himself. Soon, the Princess would leave, and he could live alone in peace, without her reminding him of his past, once more.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N- Still nothing interesting to say…. I think I'll throw the lovely Jessica in, just for the heck of it. This chapter's kind of short, but I'll have the next one up soon.

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_Raven's soul and raven's eyes_

_Raven's heart that yearns to fly_

_But just a dream_

_Can never be_

_Just a wish_

_Heart ever un-beating_

_Just made of stone and ice_

_Can't ever be real_

Allie listened to the odd music for another moment before she realized she was dreaming. And, as always, realizing that woke her up.

_What an odd dream…who dreams about music? Or someone _singing, _to be more specific._

Judging by the bright sunlight filtering in through the gap and crack in the house, Allie guessed it to be nearly noon.

_It seems all I've been doing lately is slee--ah!_ Allie felt her heart leap into her chest as she caught sight of Kal laying a few feet away from her, asleep. His body was covered in deep slashes, and blood had dried around him on the floor. The rusty-coppery scent drifted toward Allie, making her feel like she was going to gag. She had never had much stomach for injuries and the like, and the ones she sustained were usually extremely minor, nothing more than a scratch or cut. But _this…_

Allie grabbed the blanket that was the most threadbare and tore it into long strips. Folding one up into a square, she dipped it in the water bucket that she had left next to her the night before. _I've got to help him. He _did_ save my life, voluntarily or not._

Moving closer to Kal as silently as she could, she began to clean the wounds that looked the most serious. Not a minute after, Kal's eyes snapped open, and the next thing she knew, she was flying backwards, colliding headfirst into the wall. Blood filled her mouth, and realized she had bit down on her tongue. Her head throbbed painfully as she struggled p into sitting position. Kal had gotten to his feet, and was glaring at her murderously. "_What_ were you doing?" he growled. For a moment, Allie was afraid he would strike her again…or worse. She lifted her jaw defiantly, though, an met his gaze calmly.

"Tending to your injuries, isn't that obvious?"

Kal's hands clenched into fists. "Don't try to help me. Ever" he snapped, then sat down in the chair, avoiding the bloodstains on the floor.

"Why not?" she inquired, then placed her hands on her hips. She would have stood, but her legs were still sore, and, since he was a foot taller than her, it hardly would be an intimidating stance.

"You're not in a good position to ask questions, Princess."

Allie rolled her eyes. "I guess not, but if you bleed to death or get an infection, neither will you."

"I'm not weak and pitiful like you humans. I don't need to worry about those things. Look at yourself. You were only stuck in that fire a mere five minutes, and you have a fever."

"I…do?" Allie frowned, then guessed that it would be a logical explanation for why she was feeling hot and, well…sick. She shook her head. "It'll go away. Let me help you for now, alright?"

"I'm not in need of any help, least of all _yours._ And if you come near me, I'll rip your head off, and that's a promise."

"You…" Allie tried to think of a good insult, but came up with none. _That arrogant, stubborn demon…_ "Won't you do it yourself, then?" She picked up the strips of blanket and tossed them to Kal. He allowed them to fall at his feet, and didn't even glance at them.

"No. I'll heal. Why does it matter to you, Princess? The sight of open wounds disgust you?"

"Well…yes…" she admitted. "But you should clean them and bandage them properly."

"Go to hell. I don't need your advice." Kal crossed his arms and looked into a corner. "I should have killed you; it wasn't my choice to save your worthless life in the first place."

Allie dropped her arms. _Why should she worry about _him_ anyways? He killed her parents! _

_Will hating him bring them…or anyone back? _ Allie sighed. The answer was no. A big, resounding, black-and-white "no."

_Wait…if he didn't want to rescue me…why did he?_ Allie remembered how the raven that had spoken in her mind was so anxious for her to say what he told her…_wait, was that a _command?

Allie cleared her throat nervously. "Kalendrakk Raee…" she started, hoping she remembered the name correctly. It must be his full name, and "Kal " was probably a shortened version, as "Allie" was short for "Alison".

Kal's head snapped to her, eerie eyes blazing. In one fluid motion, he leapt from the chair, claws extended.

"Stop!" Allie shouted, squeezing her eyes shut.

When she felt nothing tearing into her flesh, no blood trickling down her body, she hesitantly opened her eyes. Kal stood frozen in front of her, hands laying limply at his sides.

Did she actually do that? She decided to try again. "Ummm…go and sit down." Allie's jaw almost dropped to the floor as Kal turned around and sat down once more.

"You'll pay for this, wench," he hissed. Allie moved forward on her knees and hands, legs aching too much for her to stand up.

"I only want to help you,. Then we'll be even." Allie picked up the damp piece of cloth and began cleaning as much blood off of his chest as she cold. Kal didn't flinch or move, though it must have stung.

_Maybe he _can't _move._

"Just leave me alone." Kal turned his head away, refusing to look at Allie as she rinsed out the cloth in the water bucket, turning the water a sickly pink color.

Allie realized that that was the only drinking water that was available. _Oh well. I'll go find some more by a stream…if I can crawl that far._

"Why does it bother you so much?" Most of the blood was almost gone, the new wounds standing out against old scars.

"I can't stand you touching me. Hell, I can't stand seeing you. If I could, I'd kill you."

Allie scowled and tossed the red square of fabric on the ground. She was _really _getting tired of his death threats."Why? I've never done anything wrong to you…before this, I've never even met you." She picked up a the bandages. "Lean forward a bit," she instructed him, then began wrapping them around his torso, tying a knot at the end of each and not bothering to be gentle.

"_Why? _You have no idea 'why', do you, Princess? You can stay ignorant; your knowing won't be any benefit to me."

"I swear, you are the most stubborn creature I've ever met!" She tied the final knot and then sat back. Faded grey cotton stood starkly against inky skin.

" A 'creature', now, am I?"

"N-no! I meant--a …erm…"

Kal grinned, though the smile didn't quite change the murderous look in his eyes. "Don't stutter. I've been called worse."

"What?"

"Well…" Kal held up long, claw-topped fingers and began to tick them off, one by one. "Monster, abomination, _heartless_ abomination...and, the worst…a human."

"Very funny," Allie sniffed. But she was glad that Kal was acting more civilized toward her…after all, a person could only deal with so many threats.

-------------------------------

Kal wanted to leave the shack right that instant, but the Princess's command still held him almost paralyzed; he couldn't get up from the chair. He could still move his upper body, but his legs remained frozen.

_The nerve of that girl! To first command me like one of her servants, and then _help_ me? How can she? _Kal had to admit, though, that watching the Look on the Princess's face as she cleaned out his wounds was quite entertaining. It was as if she had never seen that amount of blood before…then again, she probably hadn't, being the pampered little princess she was.

"Anyways, that should be good for now," Allie said.

"The let me leave." Kal crossed his arms and looked down at her pointedly.

"Oh! Désole…erm…Kalendrakk Raee…you can get up."

Kal stood up from the chair, resisting the incredibly strong urge to hurt her. As he thought on what he was going to do next, Allie covered a cough with her hand. "Damned fever…you wouldn't happen to have any medicine, would you?"

"No," he said shortly. _And I wouldn't give you it if I did, he added silently. _

"Kal?"

"What?"

Allie fiddled with a lock of her hair, twining it around her index finger. "Why are you always acting so…well, cold to me?"

"That is none of your business!" Kal walked toward the door, and had his hand on the knob when he looked back at the Princess. She looked so…childish. Naïve.

The hateful part of him wanted to wipe that look off of her face.

"Because you'll kill me."

Allie stopped fiddling with her hair. "Excuse me?"

Kal looked at the door. "You heard me, unless you're deaf. You will kill me, Princess. Because everyone else wants to…and because you're the only one who can. It's prophesized that you, the Princess, will be the only one with the power to kill me. So that's why I hate you. You pretend to act so…kind, when really, the first chance you get, you'll just kill me and then go on with your life. Oh, and you'll be rewarded greatly, too; an honorable deed such as causing the death of Kalendrakk will be seen as legendary. Are you happy with knowing that, Princess?" Kal left the shack and closed the door behind him, not bothering to wait for a response.

Kal squinted his eyes against he sun; he had always loathed it. It was too bright, too hot. He was used to a colder sun and colder weather, as it was in the mountains where he had lived.

_Right now she's probably frozen in shock_, Kal thought, and laughed. Normal people's laughter sounded amused, but Kal's was cold and devoid of any happiness whatsoever. It had almost always been that way.

"Well, well. It seems that you are still alive." A woman's voice with a soft accent he knew well came from above him.

Kal bowed mockingly, and when he rose, his eyes met the said woman standing on a low tree branch. "Same to you, Jessica."

"Your aura is still as repulsive as always, I see," Jessica said. She was tall, thin, and angular, with bronzed skin and golden eyes a shade paler than her hair. At the moment, her gold-brown wings were tucked into her back. She was an Eagle demon--a Golden Eagle demon, and had long hated Kal.

"Isn't it always?" Kal smiled crookedly. She was referring to, of course, his aura that was made up of entirely black light--if it could even be called light.

Jessica snorted. "You've slaughtered more humans." It was a statement, not a question, and a rather tired statement at that. "You should leave Europe. And the Princess."

Kal tapped his chin with a finger. "Let me think a moment on that…no."

"Then you've chosen your fate." Jessica snapped her fingers and a dart whistled out of the bushes behind Kal and into the nape of his neck.

_What the hell? _Kal hid his surprise as he yanked it out of his neck. The dart had emptied on impact, though a few drops of vile purple-black liquid still remained inside of it.

The demon who had used it on him flew away quickly, golden feathers flashing in the sun. Kal looked coolly up at Jessica. "What? If that was poison, it won't work. You know that only she can kill me."

"And she will!" Jessica laughed. "That little potion contained her magical energy. One of our sorcerers gathered it from her a year or so ago." There was a rustle as her wings emerged, then she turned and flew off, shouting over her shoulder "Have a nice time in hell, Kalendrakk!"

Kal flung the dart at the house, where it shattered. Jessica wasn't lying; already he could feel his body weakening.

_And what can I do about it? Nothing._ For the first and last time, Kal was going to admit his defeat. _This is so stupid! How could I have missed the scent of that damned soldier? And how can I just accept my death?_

_Well, I'll certainly reek havoc in the afterlife._ Kal re-entered the shack, where the Princess, as he had guessed, was still sitting.

"Princess. What's your name?" he asked.

She jumped, startled out of whatever thoughts she was lost in. "It's…Allie. Allie Destra."

Kal took his seat and crossed his legs. He would die, but not at least until nightfall. And hell if he was going to die alone and bored out of his wits. The Princess…this "Allie", would be as good a person as any to talk to. He had no idea where Death currently was. Perhaps flying around looking for medicine to cure a fever.

_Why aren't I out killing something? _Kal wondered.

"Are you feeling alright?" Allie asked him, concern on her face.

_It's just your imagination, _Kalendrakk. _Why the hell would she be concerned about you? _

"Yes. Perfectly fine."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N- Thanks for all the nice reviews!

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_Caw! Caw! Caw!_

Allie turned over in her sleep. In her dream, in which she was dreaming of her friends, Mel had begun to caw like a crow or something. "Shut up…" she mumbled, waking up partly.

Now the cawing was inside of her head, as untreatable as a person_. Princess! Allie! You must wake up! ALLIE!_

Allie winced at the loud voice echoing inside if her skull and rubbed her eyes. "Alright, alright…I'm waking up…"

_Get up! Hurry!_

Allie grumbled to herself. Why was whoever it was bothering her at this hour of the night? Her fever hadn't improved much, and that only added to her wonderful mood.

_Allie!_

"God!" she said into the dark room. "Stop your yelling! What do you _want_?"

_Kal's dying!_

She blinked. "Huh?"

_I understand if you want to let him die, and it's completely reasonable--maybe it would be better for you to let him pass on--but-_

Allie got up quickly; her legs were stronger, though still sore. Without hesitating, she limped out the door as quickly as she could. It was darker than she had suspected outside; the trees blocked out most of the moonlight. What filtered through the leaves made everything seem ghostly and surreal. Allie craned her neck, peering into the dark forest. "Kal..?" she called. "Are you here?" _Well, he wasn't inside, so he _must_ be out here…somewhere._

_Over here!_

Allie looked up and saw a raven perched on a tree branch. _That must be the raven who's been talking to me._ It was staring off into the woods. Hesitantly, she began to walk forward, in the direction it's (his?) head was pointing.

_There. Stop._

Allie obediently stopped, the fact that she was obeying a bird passing through her head for a moment.

_On your left, Princess. He's unconscious, I think._

Allie turned to her left and saw nothing but an old tree and some dirt.

_Oh. Sorry, your right, my left._

Rolling her eyes, she turned to her right. Kal was there, leaning against a rotting tree trunk. His legs were stuck straight out in front of him, arms laying at his sides. The bandages showed clearly in the dark. From what she could see, he was still breathing, though a bit shallowly. His eyes were closed.

"Hey," she whispered, and knelt down next to him, the dampness of the dirt seeping through her dress as it was pressed into the ground by her knee. "You awake?"

He gave no response, though his eyelids twitched slightly.

"Uhh..it's..kind of…dark out here, so why don't you come back inside?" she said lamely, then almost smacked herself in the forehead. _According to the bird, he's dying! Do something to help him, idiot!_

**_-…leave me alone-_**

Allie forgot everything that was happening for a moment and clutched her head desperately with her hands as pain knifed through it. It was horrible…worse than anything she had ever felt. Her eyes watered, and then the pain resided. Only then did she respond to Kal.

"What? You're…hurt. I can't just leave you to die."

_**-why..not?-**_

The pain again. This time it ended quickly. "Because…I just can't. it's not right."

_**-so? leave. let me die-**_

"No! That would be as bad as killing you myself…I won't condemn you like some _executioner_! I'm not like that!"

**_-…you won't leave..?-_**

"No! And, if you don't let me help, I'll drag you to the nearest hospital I can find and leave you there! With…er..humans!"

**_-…your hand. touch mine-_**

"Why?" she asked, then, after a moment of silence, hesitantly placed her hand over Kal's. In the dark, her skin seemed nearly ghostly.

_**-this is going to hurt-**_

Before Allie could react, there was an odd, tugging sensation in her chest. As she watched, her hand was surrounded by some type of white-blue light, that flowed and clashed against the black light that was hovering over Kal's hand.

_Auras, _she remembered. _They're called "auras"._

The tugging sensation strengthened and became painful, giving her the feeling that someone had driven red-hot nails into her lungs and heart. AS she opened her mouth to scream, her breath hitched, then caught in her throat.

_I can't breathe!_

Allie yanked her hand away, the aura trailing after it. As she did, she managed to get out a strangled cry.

And then she fainted. Again.

----------------------------

Kal's heart pounded painfully, reminding him that he was alive. His brain seemed to be replaced with brackish, dark water, incapable of any coherent thought. Slowly, he clenched, then unclenched a hand. It tingled, as if it had fallen asleep.

His eyes drifted slowly off to the side. The Princess was laying next to him, unconscious. He dimly remembered her fainting. How much time had passed? An hour?

_I owe her my life…_ Wincing slightly at the ache in his leg, he got to his feet and lifted her into his arms. _Troublesome…human. Can't even…remain conscious…_

_Kal! You're awake! _Death flapped from a tree and onto his shoulder.

"Yeah…" His voice came out rough and grating. His throat was dry.

Well?

"…what?" Kal looked down at the Princess, distantly grateful that her skin wasn't touching his. The last thing he need at the moment were fresh burns of that sort.

_What are you going to do with her?_

"Isn't it...obvious?"

_Well…no._

"I'll take her to a…goddamned doctor..idiot."

_What? You'll actually help her? _Death's voice was unbelieving, though pleased.

"I owe her…that much." Kal called up the small amount of magic he had and illusioned his skin, eyes, and fangs, retracting his claws as he did so. Dislodging Death with a shrug of his shoulder, he spread his wings and flapped his way above the forest. The sky was still dark, and it probably wasn't much later than midnight. In his arms, the Princess breathed deeply and evenly.

The process she went through would have been exhausting for any human; what Kal did was take a small amount of her life-energy. In doing that, he extinguished to poison in his veins. Her life-energy was much purer than his, and was the reason why the poison was destroyed, allowing him to live.

_Why did she save me? It would have been so easy for her to go back to the cabin, lay down, and fall asleep…why?_

Kal shook his head. It wasn't the time to worry about that now. Anyways, she most likely had just saved him so she could kill him herself…after all, it was her fate to do so.

Wasn't it?

Kal circled around the village. He had recalled seeing a small building that served as a doctor's office…maybe he was still awake? Yes; Kal could see a map burning in the window. Banking his wings, he landed in the middle of the road, after a quick glance to make sure no-one else was awake. He folded his wings and retracted them into his back, the walked up to the building. Allie hadn't stirred even an inch so far.

Shaking his head so his un-even bangs hung over his ears, he shifted Allie so one hand was free. After steadying her in his arm, he knocked on the door with his free hand.

There was no sound of approaching footsteps. He knocked again, impatiently. After another minute of silence, a man opened the door a crack and peered out. "Yes?"

"She fainted. And she has a bad fever," said Kal shortly. "Will you take a look at her, or not?"

Somewhat taken aback by Kal's lack of politeness, the doctor opened the door the rest of the way. "Yes, yes. Come in, Monsieur." He was dressed in dark blue pant and a loose white shirt. His hair, black with streaks of white, was cropped short.

Kal put his free arms under Allie's legs, the other under her shoulders, then followed the doctor in. The room was cramped; shelves stacked with medicines lined three of the walls, and on the fourth was small cot. A chair was resting against a free spot on the wall, an open book resting in it.

"Couldn't sleep," the doctor explained, the motioned toward the cot with a finger. "You may put her there."

Kal limped over to the bed and put Allie down on it carefully. Her head lolled to the side, half of it grimed by mud. Without thinking, Kal wiped it away with the back of his hand, earning himself another painful burn. He skin sizzled softly as he yanked it away, then placed it behind his back. Better if the doctor didn't notice.

"So, how long has she been with fever?" the doctor asked. He put his hand on Allie's forehead, then removed it as quickly as if he had been burned as well. "Good Lord, she's burning!"

_You have no idea._ "I'd guess at about…four, five days."

"_Four or five days_?" the doctor exclaimed, staring at Kal in horror. "You should have brought her here sooner! Are you _mad_, boy?"

Kal shrugged nonchalantly as the other man scrambled to the shelves and began shuffling though the bottles. "Luckily, it isn't life-threatening…" he said. "Ah, here we go!" He selected a small bottle made of dark brown glass. "Mix this in with some tea, and she should recover quickly."

Kal took the bottle, taking care not to touch the doctor's hand. He wasn't sure if the man would have the same affect as the Princess, but he wasn't about to take any chances.

"Though I would prefer," he continued. "If she would stay here overnight. She is very sick, Monsieur."

_Not that she acted it, _Kal thought, but nodded. "Very well."

"There's a room in the back for patients. It would be more comfortable for her there. By the way, I'm Monsieur Calé."

Kal nodded, but made no move to introduce himself. Instead, he picked up Allie again and carried her over to the back room. The door was ajar, so all he had to do was nudge it open.

The back room was even smaller than the front, and the only furniture was a bed and a few chairs. Kal set Allie down on the bed and, after a pause, covered her with the blanket.

"Will you be leaving, Monsieur?" Calé entered the room.

In response, Kal sat down in one of the chairs, his back to Calé, and folded his arms.

"Ah. Er, very well. Do you intend to stay here all night?"

"Yes."

"Alright, then." He waited a beat, then asked "Tell me, what is your relation with the young woman? Are you her--"

"No."

"Her friend?"

"No. I have no relationship with her whatsoever. I am a complete stranger." _And that's the truth. She knows nothing about me, and she means nothing to me._

"Oh."

Kal watched the Princess breathe in silence for a moment, then the doctor broke the silence.

"May I ask why you are staying here with her?"

"Debt." In truth, he owed her nothing, since he had already saved her life. She repaid her life-debt by saving his.

_But why did she do it?_

"Ah." Dr.Calé took his leave, shutting the door behind him.

"Why did you do it?" Kal whispered to her. "You have nothing to gain…so why?"

---------------------------------

_Allie stood in a wide field. The grass was dead, yellow, and dry. It seemed to stretch on for miles, acres and acres of dead grass. Looking down at her feet, she saw a few sun-bleached bones were scattered here and there. Shuddering, she looked up. Not far away from her, there was a person with its back turned. A cold breeze smelling of death moved the person's waits-length black hair to the side, and she recognized the grey bandages. _

"_Kal! You're alive!"_

_Kal turned around, and she froze at the sight of his glowing red eyes. "But you won; be! Not for long!" he laughed, the bared his fangs. "Ready to die, princess?" Spreading his huge Black wings, Kal flew at her at a terrifying speed, claws outstretched._

"No!" Allie shouted, then sat bolt upright, cold sweat soaking her face. _Just a dream_, she thought, as if reassuring herself. _It was just a dream_.

"It seems you are awake, Mademoiselle."

Allie jumped at the unfamiliar voce, realizing just then that she was in a likewise unfamiliar room, on an unfamiliar bed.

A well-dressed man with graying hair sat next to the bed.

"W-who are you? Where am I?"

"I am Doctor Calé. You are in my clinic…if it can even be called that. What is your name, Mademoiselle?"

"Allie…"

"Mademoiselle Allie, you have a rather nasty fever. A stranger brought you in here at around midnight. I had you stay here in case your fever worsened--"

"A stranger? Was he tall? With black hair?" Allie interrupted.

"Well--yes. Have you seen him before? He said he had never met you."

"Um…I might have seen him around town...before." If the doctor didn't recognize her as Alison Destra, the Princess, then she really didn't care enough to inform him of her status. " I think I remember him seeing me faint." So Kal really was alive; that was good news, at least. She thought so, anyways. "Did you see where he went?"

"He stayed all night here, actually. He left only a few minutes ago."

"I think I'll be going," Allie said, then got slowly out of bed. "Did you see which way he went? I want to…er, thank him."

"I think he took a left, toward the bakery…Mlle. Allie, are you sure you feel well enough to walk around?"

"Yes. I'll go straight home." _Not that I _have_ a home anymore…_

"Oh! I just remembered, that man has your medication!"

"Don't worry, I'll find him and ask him for it," Allie said, then left the room. Sunlight shone in through the windows of the front room, revealing people roaming the streets, going about their daily routines. "Merci," she said to the doctor, then quickly went out the front door before he could respond.

Outside, she had to quickly move out of the way before she ran into a person. It wasn't even noon yet, she guessed, scanning the streets for Kal. _I wonder what happened to me…what he did. He's alive, though, and that's the whole point, isn't, it?_

"Looking for someone, Princess?" A hand tapped her on the shoulder, and she spun around.

"Kal!"

Kal grinned crookedly, and held up a muffin. "Hungry?" There were dark bags under his eyes, but he seemed…well, alive.

"Yes! Thank you!" She eagerly accepted the muffin from him and bit into it.

"Walk while you eat," he told her, then began proceeded to do so himself. Allie limped after him, favoring her left leg that was more bruised than her right.

"Your legs bothering you?"

"A little," she mumbled through her mouthful of food.

Kal stopped, then lifted her into the air and settled her on his shoulders. Allie wobbled, surprised, and almost choked on her muffin. Allie swallowed it quickly. "Er, thank you."

Kal started off again, ignoring the odd looks people were giving them. "You walk slow," he said simply.

"Oh," she said, to confused to be offended. "Are you alright?"

"I'm alive, aren't I?"

"Yes…but-"

"Princess, what happened doesn't really matter. You paid back your debt, so you owe me nothing."

"I didn't do it so I wouldn't owe you anything?" she explamied. "weren;t you even listening?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." after a beat of silence, he asked "Why did you, then?"

"Because, I'm not a killer! It's not like me to stand by an let people die."

"You're not like me, you mean."

Allie wondered if he was humoring her. "Yes, that's right," she said defiantly.

Kal laughed. "I guess I wouldn't be breathing right now if you were, eh?" She felt his shoulder shake as he laughed.

"Where are we going?" Allie asked. They were now almost at the end of the town.

"Your friend's house. Mel, I think her name is."

"Really? That's grea--wait. How do _you _know where she lives?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the raven from before circling over them.

"Let's just say a little bird told me."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N- Sorry about the wait!

---------------------------------

_Kal, this is the place_, Death informed him.

**_-wonderful. you can leave now-_**

Kal knelt down so Allie could get off of his shoulders. In front of them was a large, elegant manor, not quite as large as Alison's castle, but quite big, nonetheless.

Death grumbled something about being underappreciated and flew off.

"Kal?" Allie asked. She looked nervous.

Kal folded his wings into his back, realizing for the first time that his half-healed wounds from his recent fights with the other demons were exposed. When had the bandages torn off? Yesterday? "What?"

"Well…Melanie, my friend, she's kind of…over-protective, you know?"

"No," he said honestly.

"What I'm trying to say is…don't make any threatening moves or anything of the sort. She might get the idea you'll try to hurt me."

_I wonder where she'd get an idea like _that_. Me?_ Hurt _someone? Innocent, gentle _moi? "I'll be a good little slave and keep my mouth shut, Princess." Kal realized that he was going with her. To meet her friend. Now when did _that_ happen? Didn't he just want to leave her here and then fly off…? _I have nothing else better to do. _

"Would you-" Allie started, then cut herself off, looking at her soot-covered dress.

"_What_?" he asked again.

"Never mind--I was going to ask about your...erm, _you_" she gestured to his skin and then his eyes, "but I guess it doesn't really matter."

Kal smirked. No, it did _not. _ to tell the truth, he disliked wearing the illusion he often did. It made him look…_human_. And he hated humans, so why should he masquerade as one? "Shall we?" He waved his arm toward the black wrought-iron gates that enclosed Mel's manor.

Allie nodded and they walked towards the gates. A pair of guards were there, and immediately leveled their muskets when they saw Kal.

"Jeff! Matt! It's alright; he's a friend!" Allie shouted to them. They shot uneasy looks at her, then dropped their weapons. One stepped forward and opened the gates.

Kal fought back laughter. _Him_? A friend?

"Bonjour, Mademoiselle Alison! It's nice to see you again!" one said.

Allie smiled. "Same goes to you, Matt. Merci, Jeff," Allie said as the other closed the gates behind them.

"You trust him, Mademoiselle?" Jeff asked, looking distrustfully at Kal, who met his gaze coldly.

"With my life," she answered shortly, wiping the cold look off of Kal's face, where it was replaced momentarily by disbelief and mild shock. _Is she _insane?_ Humans: all of them are mad. _

"Very well, Alison," Matt sighed, then led them to the front doors. Kal flashed his fangs at him in a decidedly disturbing smile and closed the door behind him and Allie. That was a sport he would never tire of; frightening their kind.

The front room was decorated in deep, rich colors; dark reds, blue, and blacks. The furnishings were made of dark mahogany; the curtains covered with thick drapes. A crystal chandelier provided warm light, which Kal dropped his eyes to avoid.

"Follow me, Mel's room is just up these stairs." Allie approached then climbed a flight of stairs, also in mahogany wood. There were tow other sets of stairs, each identical; one right in front of Kal, and the other to his right. He followed Allie up the left staircase, bare feet padding almost soundlessly against the wood.

When they reached the top, Allie immediately ran for a room at the end of the hall they had entered, covered in a deep red carpet. The room's door was open, and Allie soon disappeared inside it. Kal took his time walking there, the sounds of a happy screams reaching his ears.

_Probably two other girls in that room, other than Alison. What madness drove me to this?_

Kal stopped in the doorframe and looked in. Alison was being hugged by a girl with red hair and a grey dress, while another girl with short brown hair and a dark green dress was playfully messing up her hair. Her head snapped up as soon as Kal stood in the doorframe, and his eyes met a burning brown pair.

Without warning, the girl ran across the room and landed a solid punch on his abdomen; quite a good punch for a girl, he thought, though he didn't budge an inch. It took a great deal of strength to move him if he didn't want to be moved; a strength that a good amount of demons lacked.

The girl backed up, startled, when she saw he blow had no affect. No surprise there; what had no affect on me probably would have caused a grown man to collapse on his knees with the wind knocked out of him.

Allie stepped away from the red-head. "Mel, I know him!"

"Oh. My mistake." Mel glared venomously at Kal and then retreated to Allie's side of the room. The red-head was staring at him bluntly, making no attempt to hide her surprise.

"Bonjour, Mademoiselles," he greeted them, as warmly as he could. No need to scare them with threats here; his physical appearance was taking care of that.

Allie introduced them to each other. "Mel, Kelly, I'd like you to meet Kal. Kal, Kelly and Mel."

"A pleasure," Kal said dryly.

Allie, ignoring him, continued. "Kal saved my life during the fire."

"You did?" Kelly, the red-head, inquired. Her green eyes widened.

Kal shrugged. "Mayhap." He entered the room and sat down in a chair against the wall, acting un-interested with the conversation because he really _wasn't_ interested in the conversation.

"Well, I don't know about you being a hero," Mel said skeptically, "but you sure can take a punch. Especially in the state _you're_ in."

Kelly turned her interest back to Allie. "Why didn't you contact us? We were worried _sick! _We thought you burned up with the rest of them!"

Allie shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. "Sorry…I fell unconscious and didn't wake up for three days."

"But the fire was _five_ days ago," Mel pointed out. "Where were you during…" she trailed off and looked at Kal accusingly.

"I took her to my home," he explained. "For her to rest until she was well enough." The last part was pretty much a blatant lie.

"What?" Allie said as her friends eyes turned on her, with similar accusing looks.

"You stayed at his house," Kelly jerked her head towards Kal "for _five days_?"

Kal smirked as a brilliant pink flush covered Allie's face. "No! N-nothing like that happened--I was asleep most of the time--he didn't even touch me--" Allie stammered, then threw up her hands in defeat as her friend's looks didn't waver. "I give up! You have _dirty_ minds!"

Mel snickered. "Alight, Allie, we believe you."

"You're extremely picky with men, and somehow I don't think Kal here makes your list," Kelly put in. "See? Facts."

Allie, still blushing, hastily changed the subject. "Mel! Have you decided on a gift for Jordan's birthday yet?"

Mel, looking very amused with this, pointed to Kelly. "It's Keith's birthday, not Jordan's. and that's not for another week."

"Oh! Yes, of course it is!" Allie then turned on Kelly. "So? Have you picked out something for him yet?"

"Actually, I was thinking of going to town to get him something…I've got an idea!" Kelly clapped her hands. "We can all go! And, while we're there, pick out some clothes for your…erm, _friend_."

Kal kept his face blank, but shot a murderous look at Allie as soon as the other two girls were looking the other way. It was a look that said _"I absolutely will not_

_------------------------------- _

try on this!" Allie grabbed a billowy, ruffled white shirt. It had ruffles on the cuffs and the neckline would open up all the way to the stomach, also adorned with ruffles.

Allie looked intently at Kal, who opened his mouth to say something (most likely an extremely violent refusal) when Kelly called over to her from behind a rack of clothing. "_Non, non_. White doesn't really suit him, especially with _that_ skin tone!" She trotted over to them, holding a black shirt of the same make (minus the ruffles) in one hand, and dark blue dress shirt in the other.

"Good choice, Kelly!" Allie snatched the black on and held it up to Kal's torso, having to balance in the tips of her toes to do so. Kal, whom she had ordered into immobility a few moments ago, had the look of a person who would very much like to hurt somebody.

Allie studied how the shirt looked. "Hmm…the black suits him quite nicely…here, hand me the blue one!"

Kelly obediently gave to blue shirt to Allie, who lowered the black shirt and replaced it with the other. "Not half bad…" she admitted. "Its about his size too, I think…a little too snug at the shoulders, but they can be let out."

Allie walked both shirts over to a chair and lay them down on it, on top of their other picks; two vests that were a red was so dark it was nearly black, a black vest with gold embroidery, a black silk necktie, a black and a navy blue tailcoat, and a pair of black leather gloves. "Now for some pants!"

"Definitely," Kelly agreed, shuddering at the state of Kal's current breeches.

They left Kal, who stood perfectly still in the center of the shop (due to Allie's earlier command), and went to a section where the pants were. The owner of the shop (which contained men's dress clothing) huddled behind the desk, eyes darting nervously to the two confident girls and the motionless demon, whom the girls seemed to be buying a new wardrobe.

"How about these?" Allie grabbed two pairs of black dress pants and held them up for Kelly's approval.

Kelly nodded firmly then held up her choice, which were a plainer pair of dark grey cotton, which Allie approved in turn. Both went back to Kal, and held up their choices next to him to see if they were long enough; both appeared as if they would fit properly.

"We're finished!" Kelly called over to the shop owner, and scooped up the clothing in her arms and carried over to the desk.

Allie turned to Kal and grinned. "See? aren't you happy you're getting some nice new clothes?"

Kal growled menacingly, an act that earned him another nervous glance from the owner.

"Oh, stop that!" Allie chided him. "It's not like you're a wild animal!"

"Then will you release me from your command?" he spat at her, mis-matched eyes flashing.

"Oh, I forgot about that," Allie giggled, then said "Kalendrakk Raee, you can move now." As Kal abruptly turned and went to walk out of the shop, she added "But you have to stay with Kelly and I."

Cursing fluently under his breath, Kal stopped and waited while Kelly joined Allie with their purchases, holding a large paper bag. "We have to go and get him shoes, now!" Kelly announced.

"Of course!" Allie exclaimed. "I almost forgot!"

"A pity you didn't," Kal grumbled as they walked out into the street.

Allie rolled her eyes. Luckily, she had been able to wash up at Mel's, and had also been lent a dress. _That_ wasn't anything new; the three of them borrowed each other's clothing so frequently one hardly knew what belonged to them and what belonged to the other.

They had split up after arriving in town; Mel went off with Jordon to look at some new weapons that had arrived, and Kelly had come with her to but Kal some new clothing. And it was a fortunate thing she did; Allie didn't have a franc on her.

"What size shoe are you, Kal?" Kelly asked, receiving disgruntled shrug in response. Looking down at his feet, she said "I guess the biggest size they have, judging from the fact that you appear to have two sleds stuck to the bottom of you legs." Kelly stopped in front of the appropriate store. "Allie, why don't we let Kal stay outside, and spare the shopkeeper some terror?"

"Good idea." Allie lingered behind as Kelly entered the shop. "Kal, will you stay here out of your own free will? Because I feel kind of bad forcing you to and everything…though this _is_ an appropriate punishment for what you did to my home. And parents."

"Yes, Princess," he sighed. "You have my word."

"Good demon." Allie followed after Kelly, thinking that Kal's word probably wasn't a thing she could count on.

-------------------------------------

A few minutes later, Kelly was (again) at the desk, paying for the shoes they had picked out: one pair of dress shoes and a pair of riding boots, both made of black leather.

Allie wandered to the front of the shop and looked out the window to see how Kal was doing. To her surprise, he wasn't alone; he was talking to a woman a few years older than he, with golden-brown hair and cheap cotton and leather clothes.

"Well, what have we here?" the woman was saying. "It seems that the little monster is trying to go respectable! And you're _alive_, as well!"

"Go kill yourself," he told her shortly. Allie could just barely see his eyes from this angle; they were almost burning with hate.

"A little touchy today, aren't we, Kalendrakk? Well, poison and a near-death experience will do that to you, I suppose." Jessica brushed a strand of hair out of her face casually, eyes glinting.

"A little _kiiyen-taa_ today, aren't we Jessica _Kiysen-nae-Durrin?_" Kal mocked. Allie frowned; what did he just say? She had never heard words like that before…_Some odd language, I guess._

"Did I hurt your feelings by trying to kill you, little Kalendrakk?" Jessica stared coolly at him. "I guess not, seeing as _you have none_."

"Better not to have feelings than to waste them on a hopeless mortal," Kal retorted. "Isn't that right, Jessica? How's Michael doing in his grave, eh? Probably dust by now, am I right?"

Jessica's face flushed angrily. "How can you mock me, you hypocrite, when you're being ordered around by a human child? The Princess, for that matter! She'll kill you." Jessica sounded much too happy about her last statement.

"I know."

"But you won't die easily, of course. Because I know that your destroyed, mangled-"

"Jessica," Kal said warningly.

Jessica continued, ignoring him. "-distorted, mauled, desecrated-"

"_Jessica_-"

"-corrupted, befouled, mutilated-"

"_Jessica_!"

"- _pitiful_ excuse for a soul won't rest until-"

_SMACK._ Kal's hand lashed out and slapped her across the face, cutting off her sentence. Jessica's head whipped around on her neck. When she looked back at Kal, that side of her face was raw and red.

"Watch your step, Kalendrakk," she hissed at him, and then stalked off, soon out of their sight.

"Ready, Allie?" Kelly asked, and Allie jumped, startled. She hadn't even heard Kelly come up behind her.

"Y-yes. Let's go and get some lunch. I'm starving."

Outside, Kal's eyes met Allie's.

_**-learn not to eavesdrop, Princess. it's rude-**_

Allie looked away guiltily, forcing the question about Jessica out of her mind.

Just who was she?


	8. Chapter 8

A/N- I'm now going to update every other day, because of school and everything. I would update every day, but seeing as I have to get up early for hell---erm, school, I won't be able to stay up until two-thirty writing as I usually do.

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Allie tapped her foot impatiently. _Just how long does it take for one to get dressed?_ Beside her, Kelly wore an identical expression of impatience.

"Kal? Did you die in there?" Allie called over into the dressing room. They had re-entered the shop where they first bought Kal's new clothes, for him to actually put them on.

Allie raised her hand to knock on the door and it opened so quickly that she was nearly stuck in the face.

"Gods, it's not my fault that I'm not used to wearing foppish clothes!" Kal snapped.

Kelly blinked. "Wow."

Allie nodded. "Yeah. 'Wow'." In her opinion, the clothes looked far from foppish. The baggy black shirt, breeches, and riding boots actually looked good on Kal. _Of course, there is his hair, _Allie mused, casting a disapproving look at the tangled, matted, waist-length black mane that was Kal's hair, _but all in all, he looks good._

"I'm changing back," he grumbled, but before he could carry out said action, Kelly darted into the small room and snatched the tattered, faded breeches, a look of unbridled horror on her face.

"No!" she exclaimed. "These are going into the fire where they belong!"

"Definitely!" Allie agreed. "Look at them! How long have you _had_ these?" She shuddered at the thought of what the answer may be; just glancing at them disturbed her. _Alright, so I'm fashion-conscious and I dislike dirty, old clothes. Is that so bad?_

"About five years, why?" Kal undid the top few buttons on his shirt, a loathsome look in his eyes.

"_Five years?" _Kelly shrieked, causing the shopkeeper to jump. "Have you no respect for yourself?"

"None, actually," Kal said. "Can we leave now? I have the sudden, overwhelming urge to murder that person over there." He jerked his head to the shopkeeper.

Lying or not, that had the effect Kal probably desired; the quickly exited said shop, Kelly and Allie each holding a bag.

Kal grumbled to himself about his new shirt as the walked down the road. "Stupid sleeves…uncomfortable…idiotic…"

"Will you stop that?" Allie snapped. "aren't you even going to thank Kelly? She bought you all of this, you know!"

Kal looked down at the red-head. "Thanks a lot, wench," he growled.

Kelly stopped in her tracks. "_What _did you call me?"

"A wench. A stupid, vapid, shallow-minded, red-headed wench."

Kelly's jaw dropped open, and Allie's eyes flashed.

"What?" Kal laughed coldly. "You going to make me take it back?" he taunted.

"You're evil," Kelly said, looking hurt.

"That's right," Kal said, walking away. "Don't forget it."

"Kal!" Allie yelled after him as he left them behind. People who saw him quickly jumped out of the way, creating a broad path that closed up after he passed. "Hey!"

She wove her way around the people, muttering an occasional 'sorry', ''pardon', and 'excuse me'. She finally caught up with him.

"What was that all about? She was just being nice to you!" Allie told him as she trotted alongside the demon, trying to keep pace with him.

"People don't be nice to me, Princess," he spat, "They just _don't_."

"What? Then what do you call Kelly spending about eight hundred francs on you? A plot to kill you?"

"She's just a silly little noble looking for something to amuse herself," he replied. "And so are you."

"_What?"_

"I've had enough of your foolish commands, Princess." Kal tossed a small vial to Allie without even looking at her. "Have a nice life."

"Wait" Allie clutched the vial in her hand. "I'm sorry, don't leave!"

"Why not?"

"I…don't know. But I just have a bad feeling that something will happen if you leave…something bad."

" '_Something bad'?" _he mocked. "What? You won't have some evil, heartless bastard to show off to your friends?"

"No…I…" Allie tried to convey what she meant and swayed, knuckles on her hands turning white. "It's…" Without warning, her legs gave out under her and she fell backwards, the town blurring in front of her.

"Damn," she heard Kal curse, and he caught her before she hit the street, forcing her to stand up. He blurred in front of her eyes, becoming one black blot. "Drink this," he said roughly, then pried the bottle from her hands and unscrewed the cap with his free hand.

Allie took the bottle from him and took a small sip. She almost spat it out; it tasted _horrible!_ The blurriness went away after a second, though, and the faint feeling went away.

"What was that?" she asked, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"The medicine the doctor gave you." Kal removed his arm and thrust the cap at her. "Here."

"Well, er…thank you." She replaced the cap and after a moment, put it in the bag she was holding. "Will you stay?"

Kal sighed. "You'll just kill me."

"I promised I wouldn't! I'm not a killer!" Allie told him exasperatedly.

"I must be crazy…" Kal sighed, and Kelly caught up with them. Kal, clenching his hands into fists behind his back, said "I was…rash saying what I did. Accept my apology, please."

"Apology accepted." Kelly smiled. "I'm no saint either, so I can't stay too upset over a mere insult." She looked at Kal's clothing approvingly. "It was worth it."

Allie winced as she saw Kal bite the inside of his cheek to hold back his comment. "Why don't we sit down over there?" She pointed to a tree that was casting a fair amount of shade. There was a circle of soft-looking grass surrounding it.

"Sounds good to me," Kelly said, and Kal sighed again. They sat down on the grass, setting the bags aside. Allie still felt sick, but it wasn't so bad.

Both she and Kelly jumped at the sound of fabric tearing. To their horror, Kal had taken off his shirt and was making two vertical slits in the back with his claws.

"_What are you doing?" _Allie shrieked.

"Fixing it."

"How is that fixing it?" Kelly demanded. "That was a brand-new shirt!"

"So it won't be ripped to shreds whenever I decide to use my wings," Kal said in a matter-of-fact way, then put the shirt back on.

"Wait a minute….you have wings?" Kelly asked.

"Yes."

"Wow…" Kelly trailed off, eyes full of awe.

Kal raised an eyebrow. "I like to use them to disembowel people."

Allie laughed as the envying look on Kelly's face blinked out. "Oh…that's…pleasant."

Kal smirked and looked away, eyes glittering.

"Why are your eyes like that?" Allie asked.

"I was obviously born with them," Kal said. As an afterthought, he added "Idiot."

Allie rolled her eyes. "I know that. it's just that they're such an unusual color…er, colors."

Kal shrugged, having lost interest in the subject. After a pause, he said silently. "They were a way of marking me."

"Marking you?" Kelly echoed, puzzled.

"As evil."

"Oh…isn't that kind of unfair?" Kelly's eyebrows knotted together. Allie nodded in agreement.

"Everything is unfair. I learned to deal with it." He cracked his knuckles, a sound both Allie and Kelly detested.

"Not everything is unfair," Allie argued.

"Name something that isn't," he challenged them. "Go on, try."

"Uhhh…" Kelly struggled to come up with something. "Love?" She finished lamely.

"Breathing?" Allie suggested.

"Living?" Kelly put out.

Kal shook his head and smirked again. "Love is given to those whom you deem worthy; the ones you don't are often in more need of it. Breathing: other people deserve to breathe the air more than others. And as for living, those who should die live, while the ones actually worthy of living die."

"Thank you for those cheerful words," Kelly said sarcastically.

Allie frowned. "Why do you have such a bleak outlook on life?"

"Because I live."

Confused, Allie shrugged and Kelly raised her hands questioningly. Allie shook her head; she had no idea either.

------------------------------------

Kal ignored the girls as he scanned the sky, frowning slightly. He could feel the presence pf somebody--five somebodies--nearby. Five demons, in fact. Five golden-eagle demons.

And by the failure of hi assassination yesterday, it was most likely five of the army's most elite fighters.

_So, they're planning on attacking me in public now, eh? No matter…I'll kill them and be done with the whole problem in less than a minute. _

Kal sat quietly and waited for said demons to reveal themselves. While he did, he removed his shirt again and tossed it into one of the bags.

"Why'd you do that for?" Allie asked.

"It's too warm," he lied. Why work them into hysterics?

"Are you serious? It's not even hot out!" Kelly exclaimed.

Kal shrugged and went back to looking for the demons.

_So much for that precaution_, he thought as five of the aforementioned demons dropped out of the sky and landed in the middle of the street.

Both girls started. "Whoa!" Allie siad.

Kal stood up slowly, savoring how the small group of five flinched. They all had brown hair, tanned skin, and golden eyes. All wore a leather jerkin and pants, and each carried either a pike or a broadsword. Their deceiving thin frames were corded with ropey muscle, but Kal would be able to pick each up and snap them like kindling. With one hand.

The villagers backed away quickly, eyes darting from Kal to the eagle demons, all terrified. He suspected they would try to eliminate both, though "try" would be the keyword.

"Kiu," Kal called to them, using his own language. They only barely understood it, and he knew it unnerved them when he spoke in it. "Sa kiiyens dehra-ta rinn?"

"Come with us peacefully, and there will be no need for bloodshed!" one of them--their leader, probably-- called to Kal.

Kal bared his fangs in a feral grin. "Nam-sae." Curling his hands into claws, he ran into he group.

There was instant chaos as they scattered: on his right, one lunged forward with a pike. On his left, two others made the same motion with their broadswords. Behind him, another raised his pike to decapitate him, and in front, one ran at him to burry his blade into Kal's stomach.

Before any could carry out their intentions, Kal jumped into the air and unsheathed his wings from his back as his did so, flapping them a few times so he was level with the rooftops.

Below him, the three that were on his left and right impaled each other, and the ones that were in the front and back clashed weapons, the ringing of metal echoing through the streets.

Kal laughed and landed, folding his wings behind him, leaving them out for the time being. "Having fun?" he asked the two still standing. The others were in the throes of death, blood pooling out under them.

_And they call themselves "elite"._

They glared at him and moved to attack him, both at the same time; both carried a sword.

Laughing and shaking his head, Kal plucked a feather from his wings in each hand. Holding them by the shaft, he swung them in an arc as the swords came within striking distance; there was the ringing of metal-on-metal again, and both swords were broken off halfway. The two demons held the useless hilts and half-a-blade, both stunned and infuriated.

Kal lunged forward and grabbed each by the arm, holding them immobile. "Listen closely," he said in a low voice. "Tell Jessica to stop attempting to kill me, because they aren't working. And they're making me very, very angry. And tell her she'll wind up with Michael if she keeps that up, hear?"

Both nodded. Suddenly, Kal felt a burning pain as one plunged his broken blade into a gap between his ribs. Kal ignored it and smiled softly. Those whom he smiled that way at didn't live a minute after seeing it. "It just occurred to me that two demons aren't needed to deliver one message," he said, and with that, tore off the offending demon's head and threw it over his shoulder and into the crowd. It was greeted by terrified screams. The single remaining eagle demon turned extremely pale under his bronzed skin.

Kal twisted his hand and snapped the bone of the demon's forearm in two, ensuring that it wouldn't heal completely.

"And that's to remind you not to act so foolishly," he said, then released his arm. The demon quickly flew off, leaving a swirl of golden feathers in his wake.

Kal, still smiling, retracted his wings into his back and licked the blood off of his hand. _So sweet…_ Almost absently, he glanced down at the sword in his ribs and pulled it out. He dropped it onto the street, where it joined its former wielder.

Kal turned and walked back calmly to Alison and Kelly, who, like the demon, were pale under their summer tans. Warm blood flowed in a steady stream from his wound and trickled down his side, soon staining the fabric of his breeches.

"Kal…" Allie choked out. "You're…"

Kal's smile broadened. "Close your mouth, you look like an--" he broke off and coughed. A fine red mist flew out of his mouth. "--idiot," he finished, the hacked up more blood. _He must've punctured my lung._

Behind him, the crowd was driving itself into a frenzy. "Demon!" some individual shouted. "Kill it!"

Kal turned to face the crowd. "I'd like to see you try," he growled, and coughed up another mouthful of blood. He spat it in their direction and then wiped his mouth with his hand, leaving a crimson streak. "Come on, then! Who wants to go first?"

The crowd was backing away slowly as Kal limped towards them.

"Cowards!" he shouted, blood flowing out of his mouth and down his side. He continued to approach them, eyes blazing. "Filthy cowards! Come on! I'll kill you ALL! I'll--" Kal broke off as another coughing fit stuck him, causing him to bend over as he coughed up more and more blood. "C-cowards!" he managed to choke out, before resuming his hacking.

He heard Alison run up behind him. "Kal!" Allie shouted, and she put a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

The instant her hand touched him there was the now-familiar hissing of burning skin. Kal, trying to catch his breath, lost his balance and fell onto his knees, breaking the fall with one hand, the other reaching up to cover his mouth.

"Get a doctor!" Allie yelled to Kelly, and Kal lost consciousness for the second time in two day, his blood joining the eagle demon's in a grotesque, spreading circle.

"Don't worry, Kal! We'll get you help, just hold on till then!" Allie said. Kal tried to tell her he didn't _need_ help, but he was already drifting far, far away.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N- SO so so so so (etc.) sorry about the wait! I went away for the weekend, and there wasn't a computer at the place I went to! ( a writer's hell). And there's school, and that's keeping me busy… anyways, I'll go back to the before-said updating pattern-thing of every other day. Promise.

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Allie turned Kal over on his side, so that he wouldn't choke on his blood. Before doing so, she had wrapped her hands in her skirt as not to burn him.

Kal's chest rose up and down shallowly. _That's a good sign…right? He's still breathing. _ Allie turned her attention away from Kal for a moment and searched for Kelly; she had left ten minutes ago, and still had not returned! Where _was _she? And, more importantly, where was the doctor?

She looked back down at Kal. The open wound in his side was still bleeding. At this rate, he'd die of blood loss before the doctor could even get a chance to look at him.

_Sorry, Mel, _she thought, and then pressed the fabric of her skirt down over the gash. Almost immediately, it was soaked. Allie sighed and added more pressure. The flow of blood slowed considerably though it didn't stop completely. Kal didn't wake at her touch, though she could've sworn he twitched a little.

"Allie!"

Allie's head snapped up; there was Kelly, running toward her. Instead of a doctor, though, Mel followed her with an armload of bandages and a wet cloth.

"Couldn't you find a doctor?" she yelled.

"W-we did," Kelly panted, out of breath. "He ..refused to tend to a demon."

"_What?"_

"Don't worry, I know enough about stab wounds to help him," Mel assured her, then knelt down next to them.

"I think they punctured his lung," Allie told her.

"Oh. That's not good." Mel gave her the wet cloth. "Here, wash away as much of the blood as you can."

Allie removed the skirt and quickly wiped away the blood. _Déjà vu_, she realized. _Only this time, he's unconscious._

"Alright, now, can you two life him off the ground a bit?" Mel asked them.

"Don't let your hands touch him," Allie warned Kelly.

She nodded and then wrapped her hands in her skirt as Allie had done. Both girls took hold of one of his shoulders and lifted his high enough so Mel could bandage the wound. Mel did so quickly and very tightly, sparing any gentleness. When Kal woke up, he would most likely feel as if he were in a straitjacket.

"Well, now that that's finished…where do we take him?" Mel asked as they dragged him back under the tree.

"I…haven't a clue," Allie admitted. "Your house is a bit far to drag him."

Mel nodded. "Good point…_everyone's_ houses are, now that you mention it."

"We could always just stay here," Kelly pointed out. "Of course, then there's always the problem of _them_," she said, indicating the villagers, who still lingered around in groups.

"How about the forest?" Allie suggested. "Our spot next to the pond. He could rest there, and no-one would bother us."

"Good idea!" Mel said. And it's not that far, either."

Allie looped one of Kal's arms around her neck and stood up. Mel did the same with his other arm, and Kelly grabbed the two shopping bags.

"Well, let's see if we can get him here this way," Mel said and then they took a few experimental steps.

"God, he's heavy!" Allie complained. _It must be his wings. If only he were awake, he could help us a bit…_

"Hmm?" They all jumped as Kal opened his eyes part-way.

"Hey, he's awake!" Kelly said.

"Thanks for pointing that out…" Kal whispered. Then he seemed to realize that he was being held up by Allie and Mel. "Get your hands off of me."

"Nice try, but we're not moving. You'll fall." Mel, who had torn sections of fabric off of her dress and wrapped them around her hands, tightened her grip on Kal's arm. "Come on, Allie, let's go."

They started off, cutting across the town to reach the forest behind. After the first few steps, Kal straightened up and walked himself at a normal pace, using the tow girls only for support.

"I told you I didn't need any help," he grumbled at Allie.

"No you didn't."

"Yes, I did."

"Be quiet, you need time to heal."

"No, I don't."

Allie rolled her eyes and adjusted her hold on Kal's arm. A section of uncovered skin brushed his, and he winced. "Watch it!"

"Sorry, sorry."

----------------------------------------------

"_Finally_," Mel grunted, and then let go of Kal's arm. His legs gave out just then, and Allie, who hadn't let go of her side as quickly, was pulled to the ground along with Kal.

He snatched his arm away and moved away from her. The movement caused his side to hurt, but, as always, he ignored it_. Damned demon…I should have seen that coming, with the sword. _Kal's lung itched, and he recognized the feeling to mean that he was already healing, however slowly.

"Are you alright?" Allie asked him.

_Since when do people care if I'm alright or not?_ "What do _you _think?" he snapped.

The dark-haired girl--Mel, he remembered-- suddenly knelt down next to him and brought her face a few inches away from his. "She was just trying to be nice to you, so show some respect!"

Kal narrowed his eyes, though he was impressed with Mel's fearlessness. "Get away from me," he told her. Mel looked at Kal with a mixture of dislike and pity, then stood up and moved away.

_Are you alright…let me help you…I won't try to kill you…we'll get you help…_

Why was she acting the way she did? And why did she get her friends to help him? It would have been so easy to leave him and walk away just then…and yesterday night. _She's had two chance to kill me, and she turned them both down, doing instead the exact opposite. And I've been _returning _the favor…_

Kal was almost bipolar in ways. As Kalendrakk, he was evil, and accepted it, even enjoyed it, but a small part of him that hadn't died, as most suspected, was overly-protective and what even passed as 'kind' for him. After all, his name was made up of two words: Kalen and Drakk. "Kalen" meant "heartless, and "drakk" meant "abomination." But if one were to remove the suffix "en" from "kalen", they would be left with "Kal".

Heart.

Kal came to a decision about what to do. "Leave me and Alison alone," he ordered Mel and Kelly. "I want to speak with her."

Kelly opened her mouth to protest, then sighed. "C'mon, Mel, let's go find Keith and Jordon."

After they had left, Allie looked worriedly at Kal. "What is it? You're not dying again, are you?"

Kal almost smiled; the way she said it was very amusing. " Not today, Princess. you're the only one who can kill me."

"Oh…right.."

She looks so disturbed about that…is death really so foreign to his girl?

"Princess, as you might've noticed, there are a great deal of people out to kill me. Now that you've…aided me, more than once, some may try to go after you as well. This is entirely my fault, and I'd like to fix it somewhat."

Allie tilted hr head, confused. "Alright…"

"I've decided to become your protector. It's a very old ritual the Raven demons used, once. It uses a powerful protective magic to bind a human's mind to a Raven demon's. The link is nearly impossible to break, when done properly. In doing this, you'll become my charge, and I swear my life to protect you.

"Why?" Allie frowned, searching his face. "I thought that you.."

"Were an evil mass-murderer? I am."

"..I was going to say that you didn't like me, but that works, too."

"Will you agree, or not, Princess?"

"I guess….my answer is yes. If you're really sure."

Kal struggled to one knee and placed one hand over his heart, bracing the other against the ground. "Keh raesa kel teah darke keles, xela keh rinn." it was the Raven's oath. The ancient binding-magic behind the words would turn Kal into Alison's protector, from that second until he or she died.

"What did that mean?" Alison asked. "Those words."

"Don't worry yourself about it. Now put out your hand, palm facing me." She did as he asked, and he placed his palm against hers, forcing himself to keep the contact as the sick-sweet scent of his burnt flesh reached his nose. This was the second and last step of the ritual. After a few more seconds, Kal drew his hand back. The brief contact connected their minds, and now he could sense the Princess, a phantom-like presence lingering in the back of his consciousness. He also felt the fever that was bothering her. Without thinking about what he was doing, he removed the fever from her body and brought it into his own, where it would eventually die. Human aliments didn't affect im in the slightest.

The Princess was holding her head in her hands, a pained expression on her face. Kal realized that some of his memories, which would be the substance of nightmares for anyone else, were starting to reach her mind though their bond. Quickly, he threw up an mental barricade around his mind, scolding himself for not thinking about it sooner.

Alison relaxed visibly and straightened up. If he was lucky, she had most likely only gotten the feelings he remembered, not mental pictures of his past.

"That was…strange," Allie said.

"One could say that." Kal felt the tickling in his lung again, this time more insistent, and covered his mouth before he coughed. When he stopped, he looked down at the blood in his hand. Without thinking, he wiped it clean on the leg of his pants.

Allie stared at him.

"What?"

"You…just…those were new pants!"

"Not anymore," he said truthfully, and began to scan the area he was in. the edge of a cliff was not five feet from him, leading down into a good-sized pond. The dirt was packed, evidence that this spot was used often.

Allie sighed. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" she asked, changing the subject.

"_Yes_, Princess. I'm not a pathetic weakling like you humans." Kal smirked in amusement as her jaw dropped.

"_I am not _pathetic!" she protested.

"Yes, you are."

"No!"

"Yes."

"You…you… " Allie struggled to come up with some insult harsh enough.

"Bastard? Cad?" Kal offered. They were two common insults used on him. Usually from people he just met, seeing as he made _wonderful_ first impressions.

"Somewhere along those lines, yes."

Kal grinned. "Better to be a cad than a pathetic, weak _human_. Give me my shirt, will you?"

Allie glowered and tossed him the black shirt. Kal slipped it over his head with some effort (his chest and side were hurting worse than he let on). Normally, he would have just stayed as he was, but the bright sun felt awful on his skin, and he didn't want to go to the effort of creating enough fog to blot it out.

"Al-lie!" Kal turned his head to his left, where he saw the two girls from before, along with to boys he hadn't met.

_Wonderful. _More_ humans._

"Bonjour Keith, Jordon!" Allie called out. "Meet Kal!"

Kal stared reproachfully as the lanky, brown-haired boy waved at him. "Bonjour! I'm Keith, and this is Jordon." The shorter, darker-haired boy raised a hand in acknowledgement.

Mel and Kelly sat down next to Allie, and Keith and Jordon sat next to them. Kal noted that Allie was the only was within a two-foot distance of him.

"Are you Allie's demon?" Jordon asked.

Kal shot him a cold glare. "No, I am not 'Allie's demon'. I'm not a pet."

Allie rolled her eyes. "He meant if you were the person in my dungeon. And he is," she told Jordon.

Kelly stared at his chest. "Are you alright?"

"How many times are you idiots going to ask me that?" he yelled. "I'm perfectly fine, got it? Shut up about that already! It's _annoying_!"

"God, somebody's tense," Mel muttered under her breath.

"You _little--!_"

Allie put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Kal. We were just worried, that's all."

He shrugged her hand off, skin tingling. The shirt kept him from being burned, at least. "Then don't, understood? When I loose my temper, it means death. _For all_. So I suggest you make sure that doesn't happen, alright?"

"This one's definitely a keeper, Alls," Jordon whispered loudly.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N- Damn, I've been a lazy updater. Ok, so there seems to be a lot of questions about Kal's fellow raven, so I'll use a lot of him in this chapter. I like him, anyways. Kind of concerned, but not bordering on the edges of annoying-ness. Awesome birds, ravens. Alright, I'm babbling.

KrazyKutie- I don't know any Latin, sadly. I made a language up, for the raven demons, and I use that. When Kal swears and stuff, he's using the language I made. I also use the same language to curse during school, so I don't get in shit from the teachers. Muaha.

Ain't I the evil genius?

Ok, moving on with the chapter….

-------------------------------------

Everybody got Punjabed by the Phantom. The End.

----------------------------------------------------

Alright, SERIOUSLY staring the chapter. I had a _bit_ too much coffee.

---------------------------------------------

Jessica looked up sharply at the familiar sound of flapping wings. Standing up from the log she had been sitting on, Jessica waved her hand to one of her soldiers in greeting. "Well?"

The soldier landed in front of her, pale-faced and looking rather nauseous. "I…we…Kalendrakk.." he stammered, then stood up straighter. "The attack did not succeed, my Lady. Kalendrakk proved too powerful."

"And the others?" she asked curtly, hiding her anger and disappointment behind a blank face, as she had learned to do in the army of her clan.

The soldier, whose name was Marcus, hung his head. "Killed, my Lady. I am the only survivor."

"Joshua? Darren? Nicholas? Roger?"

"All dead, my Lady. Joshua injured him, but it wasn't life-threatening. And Kalendrakk said…that you would join Michael if you did not stop the attacks." Marcus stood perfectly still, awaiting a reprimand or punishment of sorts. As infuriated as Jessica was by the message, she noted that he arm was broken, perhaps beyond the magic of the healers.

"Very well, Marcus. See to it that your arm is set."

"My Lady?"

"That was a dismissal."

Marcus bowed deeply and flew away in the direction of the make-shirt camp they had constructed.

Jessica ran a hand through her hair. _Still, that abomination lives! _ Growling, she flew in the same direction Marcus had.

It was time for a meeting with the second-in-command, Alexander.

Her _dear_ brother.

Soon she landed in the center of their campsite. Around her were roughly a dozen of roughly-made tents. The largest was a few paces away, and bore the symbol of the royal family, her family. The few remaining soldiers that were present (and alive) stood clear of her path. Jessica was not cruel to her underlings, but she had been know to loose her temper horribly ever so often.

"Alex!" she shouted as she stormed into the tent, the flap closing after her. The person in question was sitting on the edge of his bedroll, and apparently conversing with a large lack bird.

"Ah, sister. How nice of you to show up." Alex smiled briefly at her, then re-directed his attention to the bird. He was the same height as Jessica, though with a stockier build.His hair was a few shades darker, as was his skin. A deep scar passed over one eye, forcing it shut. The remaining eye was the same golden-yellow color as his sisters. Alexander had a few hundred years seniority to Jessica, which made him around two-thousand two-hundred and nine years old.

"Why in all the hells are you talking to that crow?" she yelled. "Are you not aware that we lost four of our best soldiers?"

"Yes, yes, Death's Flyer here was just telling me about that. Sit down, won't you?"

Jessica glared at her brother and sat down on the bedroll across his. The raven glanced nervously at her, then looked back at Alex. She recognized the white feather on his head before she remembered the name. "Aren't you Kalendrakk's consort? What the hell are you doing here, raven? Spying?" Before he could answer, she turned on Alex. "And you, brother? Are you assisting the damned crow? Why? You wish for Kalendrakk to kill _more _of our clan?"

"Calm yourself, Jessica! The raven is merely here to negotiate a truce."

"No, I _will not_ calm myself, Alex! A _truce_? How can you expect me to believe that that _creature_ is offering a--!"

_Please, Lady Jessica, stop your ranting. _

Jessica bristled at the raven's voice in her head. "_I am not RANTING_!" Outside, she could see a few shadows of the soldiers against the canvas wall of the tent. _"Go somewhere else, you USELESS pigeons!"_

"Yes, milady!" The called in chorus, then flew off quickly.

_As I was going to say,_ Death's Flyer continued, _Both Kal and you army would benefit greatly if a truce was formed. You can no longer afford to lose your best soldiers, and it is becoming a quickly tiring position for Kal to be in._

"Like hell it is!" Jessica growled. "It's terrible for him, I imagine, to _slaughter_ our elite fighters!"

"You _did _set them up against Kalendrakk," Alex pointed out. Jessica favored him with a glare that would have burned though steel.

"Oh? Are you accusing me for their deaths?"

"All I'm saying is that you _may_ have acted a little rash."

"_Rash_?"

"You _did_ know about his almost-undefeated status in battle."

"Exactly. _Almost_. There's still a chance! All we need to do is have our remaining forces weaken him enough for the Princess to kill him…!"

The raven ruffled his feathers. _That's what I--_we_, we--wish to prevent, actually. You see, Mlle. Jessica, Kal has taken the Princess on as his charge._

"WHAT?" she shrieked. Alex flinched, and edged backwards slightly.

_Furthermore, the Princess agreed to it first, and she considers Kal as a friend. That was why he survived the your first attack, after all._

"You're lying! That…that _monster_, has no feelings! He can't possibly--!"

_Actually, he can only feel certain emotions, meaning that he is not completely devoid of--_

"Quiet, you insolent bird!"

"Jessica--"

"I WILL NOT agree to a truce with that creature!" Jessica yelled, then exited the tent.

"I apologize for her reaction, " Alex said to Death. "As you know, she still harbors a painful grudge against Kalendrakk."

_Completely understandable, Lord Alexander. After what occurred during his stay…_He trailed off and sighed.

"Yes…poor Jessica."

-----------------------------------------------------

Death flapped his wings faster, trying to gain more speed. The muscles burned and screamed, exhausted to the point of collapsing. He had been flying nearly all day, over the Atlantic ocean and into America. He was only an average raven, after all, and did not posses the strength nor stamina of the avian demons.

It was nearly nightfall as he landed in the clearing of pine trees. Luckily, the person he had flown cross-country to negotiate with was in that clearing, kneeling down on a bed of dry needles. In front of the person lay a slab of marble, with a small bouquet of wild flowers.

_Lady Jessica? _he asked hesitantly. He wondered f she would be angered that he had followed her all the way to America to discuss the most-hated person the she knew.

"Leave me alone, crow," she snapped. Her voice was raw and tired. "Just go."

_But Lady Jessica…_

She ignored him and looked down at the grave stone. "You remember whose grave this is?"

_Yes, but-_

"You remember _how_ he died? _When_ he died?"

_Yes, Mademoiselle. I remember._

And Death remembered quite clearly. The memory was a vivid one.

It happened on Kal's seventeenth birthday, July the thirteenth, 1969.

_Jessica ran up to Death's Flyer, grinning ecstatically. She was never particularly fond of the raven, but she was always polite. Today, thought, she seemed in an strangely (for herself) good mood._

"_Death! Death's Flyer!"_

Yes, Jessica?

"_It's Michael! He asked me to marry him!"_

_Death tilted his head. By Michael, she meant the dark-haired man from a neighboring village, her human lover._

That's wonderful, Jessica.

"_I know! I've never been so happy in my life!"_

_Death cawed, in substitution for laughter. _Really? All one-thousand nine hundred and six years of it?

_Jessica giggled, an extremely rare thing for her. "Yes! Oh, I'm going to be _married_!"_

Where is the unfortunate man? _Death joked._

_Jessica smiled. "Oh, he's gone to tell Kal." Like Death, Kal wasn't one of their friends, exactly, but they were kind enough to him. They almost pretended they didn't know about his yearly slaughtering rampages._

_Death froze. It being Kal's birthday, and the loss of self he experienced…Maybe it wouldn't happen, this time. Maybe Kal would finally be able to accept the Eagle demons as friends and control his murderous instincts…_

_Ever since Jessica's people had aided Kal when he was a child, they had treated him with a distant sort of respect. They gave him a secluded house on a cliff, far away from everyone else, where he could stay when he wished. The Royal Family, being Jessica and her older brother, Alex, and their mother and father, would occasionally visit him, more as common curtsey than anything else. Often, they would end up talking to Death instead of Kal, who never was social._

I'm sure Kal will congratulate you as well, Jessica,_ Death said, not voicing his fears. _When will you be having the ceremony?

"_Two months from now, I believe. Miranda said she'll be my bridesmaid; one of Michael's friends'll be the best man, I think. You and Kal are invited, of course."_

My thanks, Jessica. _He winked_. I'll try to convince Kal to act civilized.

"_Ah, a task that borders on impossible! But I really would like it if you two would come."_

We will._ Death cocked his head at some sound in the distance, coming from the direction of the main village. _What's that?

_Being a demon, Jessica had much sharper hearing than he. "It sounds like…screaming, almost."_

Oh _God_ no! _death hurried into the air, flapping his wings frantically. The main village wasn't far--there still could be time… _Oh no, no, _no!_

_Jessica was soon flying above him. "What's the matter? It's not…"_

His birthday! It's his birthday! The anniversary of his people's annihilation!

"_What?" she yelled. "You don't think…oh gods, Michael!" Jessica overtook him, beating him to the main village, built into the steep side of a mountain. Unlike just a few moments ago, it was completely silent._

Deathly _silent, one might say._

_When the two landed, Jessica on the street, Death on a rooftop, only one person remained standing amid the bloody corpses and gore-covered ground._

_Kalendrakk, eyes blazing the as red as the blood he had spilt, black skin glinting in the sun._

_A few feet away lay Michael's body. The carnage had also been joined with the now-former Lord and Lady, Jessica's parents._

"Then why do such details escape your small head so quickly? If you remember what happened, then why are you so eager for peace? What Kalendrakk deserves is _worse_ than death! He murdered my parents, my fiancé, and a good deal of my people, when all we did was aid him! So, Death's Flyer, give me a single good reason not to rid this world of that abomination."

_I…_ Death struggled to put his thoughts into a sentence she would accept. _If he lives, he can _change_, Jessica. If we only give him a chance, a reprieve from being hunted down, there may be a chance that some of the coldness in his soul might go away. Perhaps all he needs is another chance, just to prove he can be--_

"_Another chance_? You wish for him to have _another chance_?"

Death winced inwardly; he should have expected this reaction. _Yes, _he said timidly.

"He had his chance to reform when we saved him as a child. He's had his chance when we offered friendship. He slaughtered the people who wanted to give him a chance in return. And you expect me to believe that this time will be different? No, Death, he's used up his chances. It's time for him to pay his due in blood. And besides," she clenched her fist so tight that Death could see little rivulets of blood running out through her fingers, "he's much better suited to Hell than this world."


	11. Chapter Not Eleven

A/N- not much to blab about today…. And, again, sorry about the lazy updating. I'd like to stay up all night writing, but because school and crap…yeah. I say 'yeah' a lot….

Dark Ninja- I feel like stupid… I meant to put '1869'. Damn typos. I really should edit my writing better…

laurashrub- Well, it depends on the mood I'm in. If I'm violent, he kills people. If I'm happy, the hapless villagers of choice are off the hook.

Nah, just kidding.

Well, every year, he kinda gains more physical strength, gets stronger, whatever you want to call it. Except since his family and entire race was killed on his b-day (along with his adoptive mom), emotions he's not used to feeling come back to him and screw him up, so he looses control of his sanity for the entirety of that day. 'Cause he doesn't feel those emotions for the other 364 day of the year, so craziness when he does. Lovely, ain't it?

* * *

"What now?"

"What do you mean, 'what now'?"

Allie rolled her eyes at Kal. "I mean, what happens now? Will you go off somewhere, and I just forget about the whole thing? I don't even have a home to go back to."

"That's not my problem," he said blithely. Then he remembered his new responsibility. "Then again, maybe it is."

"So, again, 'what now'?"

"Why ask me? I'm a murderer, and a drifter. I go wherever I want, kill whenever I want, and eat whenever I want. There's no place for you in my life, Princess. You're a pampered, spoiled little human, who expects everything to be planned. Chaos what I expect. Chaos, death, and fighting."

Kal looked at her expectantly as she frowned, looking down at her hands. Her friends had left uncertainly after the sun set, hesitant about leaving her alone in the company of a demon. She reminded them that she had already spent five days in that particular company, then told them she would see them the next day.

"I just…" she sighed. "I don't know. I wish I did. Honestly, I agree with you. I used to daydream about being free like this; and now that I got it, despite the circumstances, I don't know what to do with it."

"You poor thing," Kal drawled.

"I don't even have any clothes, for God's sake! Or money, or food, or a home…"

"You and me both, Princess. Except I'm not crying about it, am I?" Kal crossed his arms over his chest and stared flatly at her as she began winding a strand of her hair around her finger. In fact, he hadn't cried in fourteen years; he rarely felt true sorrow. _And why should I? If I mourned every little thing that went bad in my life, I'd have no time to do anything else._

"I…I guess that I might as well go with you. Back to the woods."

He chuckled. "And what makes you thin that I'm going there?"

Surprise flashed across her face. "You're not? I thought that it was your…home."

"I've already said: I don't have a home. I'm a drifter."

"So you're going to…"

"Drift."

"Ah."

Kal shifted his position, the dampness of the tree's bark seeping through his bandages. "You'd have a much easier life if you stay here, with your friends. You could get a job and buy your own house; it wouldn't kill you to work."

She shook her head. "I'll come with you."

Kal blinked. "Oh? And why's that?"

"Well, for one…I'm kind of fed up with this place. I want to travel, to see the ocean…"

"And?"

"And…" she paused a moment, the continued. "And I think you need a friend. You're so…dark."

"Me?" Kal laughed shortly. "That's actually funny, Princess. If only Jessica could've heard that! You, be a friend to me!"

"You're already my protector," she informed him haughtily, set back by his joking.

"I know. That doesn't mean I have to like you, or accept your friendship."

"I was just explaining why I'm coming…" Allie said, looking hurt.

Kal shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Then come. Let's see how you'll feel after a week or so of nightmares, and a month of sleeping on the ground and in trees. Let's if you want to be a friend after you see me kill."

Allie sighed again and looked sadly at his face. Kal knew that wasn't an easy feat; in the dark, his inky skin blended in nearly perfectly with the dark. Only his eyes gave him away. "I wish I could know why you're so angry all the time."

"You do, do you?" He waved a hand at his bandaged torso. "I thought it was pretty obvious."

"That's not what I…never mind."

"Alright. I won't," he said bluntly.

"No, wait…" she sighed. "If I'm going to be spending a lot of time with you, shouldn't I at least know about you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You don't already? I'm something of a legend," he said sarcastically.

Allie shrugged helplessly. "I really don't."

"So, what, you want my life's story or something?"

"Yes…no…I don't know."

"Fine." Kal brushed his bangs out of his eyes and yawned. "Well, I've been evil since I was born, not that it showed until I was seven. I was born with this eye," he pointed to the white-purple iris, "as a sort mark, to let everyone know that I never would or could be normal. And as for my…unusual appearance, you might say," he waved a hand at his body, "well, I'm just a freak."

The Princess involuntarily giggled at this, before guiltly motioning him to continue.

"My family and village, which was basically the entire race of the Raven demons, 'bout two thousand or so, was slaughtered by humans when I was four. I was the only survivor. I eventually wandered into a human village, where I was adopeted by a human woman named Karen. I killed her on my sixth birthday, two years afterward. For six years after that, I manly wandered around the forests and mountains. Then I was taken in by the Eagle demons. I stayed near their village, for a while. When I turned seventeen, I killed two dozen of their people and a human. Since then, I've made my way to Europe, then to here. I've killed around a hundred and fifty humans and demons since then. Any questions?"

"I…erm…" Allie edged backwards, away from Kal. "That's quite a…story."

* * *

Kal fought the urge to hit something, hard. _She's acting like I going to rip her head off at any moment._

_If you could, you would, _he reminded himself.

"Glad it amuses you, Princess."

"No! No, it doesn't amuse me! I mean…God. You've killed so many people…and you said you'd kill more!"

Kal regarded her flatly. "I did."

"Why? How can you _do _it? Don't you even feel any remorse? They had _lives_! Homes, families, realtives, friends, lovers…and you take all that away without even _thinking_?"

"Yes, Princess, I do." The disgust and disbelief in her voice was extremely familiar to him almost as familiar as pain. "I do."

She stood up swiftly, stumbling over her skirt. "I can't believe it.." she mumbled. Kal,on the other hand, laughed softly. "What?"

"Irony, is what. I knew this would happen," he laughed. "Where's your kindness now, Princess?"

She surprised him by offering her hand to him, looking down at his glowing eyes. "Right here," she said cooly.

"Huh?"

"You won't change if no-one shows you anything but hate."

"I won't change at all," he argued, and stood up, ignoring her hand and the dager of fire in his lung.

"Fine, then, _Kalendrakk._ I'm too tired to argue. Let's just go back to that house in the woods for tonight."

"Whatever you say, Princess. But," he added, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "We'll have to walk there. I'm in no mood to fly all those miles, carrying a squirming little human."

"On the other hand, this clearing looks fine," Allie siad quickly, then dropped down to a patch of grass, curling up in a ball like a cat.

* * *

"_Kal, honey? What are you doing outside? It's past your bedtime." Karen's voice filtered through the back door, making him turn his head slightly._

_"I just...want to be alone for a bit. I'll come inside later, " he lied. Kal didn't want to go inside tonight...oh God, he could smell her blood. Her heart beating. How he wished he could make it stop...squeeze the very life from her... NO! What the hell was happening to him!_

"_Well, since it's your birthday..." She opened the creaky door and walked over next to him, sitting down with a sigh. "Are you alright here? The grass is pretty wet."_

_"I'm fine."_

_"Ok. You did this last year though, too. At the same time at night, same spot on the ground... something bothering you?"_

_"No," he lied, again. He couldn't tell her. She still thought he was human, and she'd just throw him onto the streets, if she knew him as a demon._

_"You sure, Kal?" Karen looked concerned. "You might not remember, but when I adopted you, the people said you stumbled in, exactly two years ago, with your back all torn up and bleeding. Did somebody hurt you?"_

_Kal shook his head, his messy black hair flying over his face. "No...I-" He stopped, as the details flooded his eyes._

_He had fallen from a gigantic evergreen, hitting every branch on the way down, the landing in a patch of wild roses. He lost consciousness, and when he woke up..._

_...the bodies...everywhere...all the blood...the blood.._

_"Stop it!" he screamed, covering his face, his fingernails digging into his skin. "STOP!"_

_"Kal!" Karen cried over his voice, worried._

_Before he knew what he was doing, he lashed out at her, his fist striking her solidly in the neck._

_Then froze, horrified, at the sickening cracking sound of bones breaking._

_Karen fell over, her eyes staring blankly at the sky. There was a frozen expression of horror on her face._

_"Karen...?" Kal touched her face, his hand trembling. She didn't move. "Karen?"_

Allie sat bolt upright, heart pounding. Her dream…it was so _real._ She had been Kal, only he was little…and he had killed his mother…_adoptive _mother..

_Oh God, that was his _memory! Frantically, she looked around the clearing. Kal was sitting on the edge of the cliff, legs dangling over the side. There was a heavy fog over everything, and eh sky was gloomy and dark. _Not to mention it's a little cold for the summer_, Allie thought, shivering.

"Bonjour, Princess. You're up late."

"W-what time is it?"

"An hour or so past noon."

"Oh."

Kal looked over his shoulder. "Some reason why you were crying in your sleep?"

"Huh? What d'you…" she reached up a hand to touch her face, Her cheeks were still damp, and she noticed for the first time that her eyes and throat were sore. "I don't; know…I was dreaming about you, though."

"Well, that explains it perfectly."

"What? No, no! I didn't mean it that way! I just had a dream concerning you, is all."

"And you looked at me and started to cry, is that it?"

"No! Never mind it, if you're going to be so…_defensive_!"

Allie grumbled to herself as Kal laughed again and patted the ground next to him. "Sit."

"I'm not a dog," she objected, but walked over and sat down anyways.

"Now listen," Kal told her. "If I ask something, it's because I'd like to know the answer. Preferably before I lose my temper. What did you dream about?"

Allie looked at him hesitantly. His red eyes stood clearly on his face. It was…disquieting. "I dreamt about you and your mother…Karen, her name was. I saw you.."

"Kill her. Yes, I remember that. Clearer than some people think." Kal looked away from her and out across the cliff. On the other side, twenty feet away, a rabbit was nibbling on some grass. "That was my memory that you saw, not a dream. And, since your wondering, I don't have any remorse for what I did. I killed her, and that's that. Regretting it won't bring her back. And, besides, she was just a human."

"She was more than just a human," Allie argued. "She was your _mother_."

"So was yours, and I don't see you mourning her loss. Besides, she was my adopted mother. My other died long before."

"What you don't understand about my parents," Allie said, "is that they were hardly ever around. They were always off on business trips, going around the country. And, when they were home, they didn't pay me any attention, except to try and play matchmaker with some noble or duke. Honestly? I miss my lady's maids more."

"Makes enough sense. Ah, irony. Sweet, sweet irony." Kal grinned broadly, flashing dagger-sharp fangs. If he had been looking at her, Allie probably would have been considerably terrified. But, as luck had it, he wasn't."

"And why is it ironic?"

"Haven't you figured it out, Princess?" he asked, still grinning. "They were out looking for me."

"I--what?"

"They were looking for me," Kal repeated. "And for information on me."

"And why's that?"

"Why? To kill me, obviously. That's what everyone wants, isn't it?"

Allie's face softened. On one hand, he was evil…he murdered without any thought to what he was doing, he was incredibly short-tempered, and he acted cold and even cruel. But on the other hand…he had been through so much. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to be hated everywhere by everyone. "I don't."

Kal's face took on a look that was almost pitying. "You will, Princess. I know it. You will."

* * *

"Why were my parents after you?"

Kal stared at the Princess for a second, a bit confused. _Hadn't they told her? _"Because they naturally guessed that I was going to try and kill you. Which, they guessed right, because I did. _That _plan failed, eh? So they went around America, picking up old scrolls, books, notes, anything that had information of me. Probably to figure out my weaknesses; too bad that I have none. And I'm not bragging, either," he said as she raised her eyebrow skeptically. "So they just hid the documents in their castle and waited for me to come 'round. They gathered hundreds of inventive weapons, too. Those were hidden below the dungeons; I didn't even bother getting them out."

"And where are the documents know?"

He smirked. "Oh, I destroyed them, of course. They had all the ones that were in existence, even the books my father published and sent to the humans. I burned them, not long after you woke up from the fire."

"Why?"

_Was she incredibly daft, or just ignorant? _"Why?" Kal echoed. "Because I'm tired of idiots thinking they know about me. They don't have any right to know who I am, or what I do. That's _my_ business."

"I see." She waited a beat, then skipped to another subject. "You said your father published a book?"

"Yeah, he did. Sent it to France, too. Nobody believed it was true, so it quickly became a child's story. He sent it out before I was even born, and wrote it a month before that. He was a sort of prophet, remember."

"Oh. That's…nice. So even people our age know about you?"

"Some. It depends on the parent. Hardly any bothered to even get the book from a library or bookshop. After all," he grinned. "Who'd want to read about me?"


	12. Chapter 12

A/N- Damn, I've been lazy about updating recently…

krazykutie- sorry about the grammar and all, I'm a horrible typer. If that's a word…

I'm gonna apologize now for any grammar/spelling mistakes I made in this chapter, as well as any sentences that don't make sense.

* * *

"Ew, ew _ew_," Allie muttered under her breath, pulling her foot out of a puddle of mud. As it yanked free, there was a squelching sound that caused her to grimace more. "_Gross."_

"Hurry up, Princess, if you want to say _au-revoir _to all of your little friends!" Kal, even with a limp and a punctured lung, was a good ten yards ahead.

"But it's so gross! And look, I got mud all over my shoe!" she whined.

"Stop your crying already! It's giving me a headache!"

"I'll stop my crying when I get onto nice, level ground that's not boggy!"

Kal stopped and shook his head. "Ahtya-karah?" he asked himself, again in that odd language. In a louder voice, he said "Just stop complaining and suck it up!"

"Meanie."

"Exactly. Now move it!" Kal stepped over a fallen tree and continued on.

Allie, now splattered in mud and grass stains as well as blood, groaned and hurried to keep the demon in her view. The fog, not having lifted, made matters worse: her clothes and hair clung damply to her skin, making her feel in need of a hot bath. A nice_, long _hot bath. The state of her hair horrified her; it was nearly as bad as Kal's.

_Speaking of which, either I'm going to cut it or brush it. How can he deal with having hair in that state? It's unimaginable! Hmm…it would probably look weird short. Definitely brushing it, then. And combing. Maybe afterwards I can braid it…oh! And he'll have to take a bath, too. Or at least wash. He's all covered in blood and dust and mud and…that's just plain disgusting. At least his outfit is still in acceptable shape…except for those tears. Well, better those tears than having the entire shirt destroyed._

"You have weird thoughts, d'you know that?"

"Hm? What'd you say?" Allie was busy thinking on how to fix up his hair. _It probably needs to be trimmed, too….it's all uneven. What did he cut it with last, a dull knife?_

"Never mind," he grumbled. "And it was a bread knife, by the way. Stole it from a baker's."

"A what?"

"You were wondering what I cut my hair with last. I cut it with a bread knife. And it _was _dull."

Allie blinked. "Did I say that out-loud? I thought I thought it." She frowned. "But maybe I didn't think I said what I thought I thought in my thoughts. But that would mean I _said _what I thought, not thought--"

"Don't stress your little human brain, Princess. I can read people's minds if they're not too far away." He looked over his shoulder and grinned wickedly. "So you _did _think what you thought, not said what you thought you thought."

"That's confusing…I guess I should be more careful about what I think now, huh?"

"If you want." He ducked before he walked into a low-hanging branch. "Or you could not think at all. It's not like you use your brain a lot, anyways."

"Hey!"

Kal laughed and then coughed. With out stopping, he hacked and spit into the bushes.

"Eeeeew.." Allie shuddered. "If I had eaten breakfast, I'd be throwing it up right now."

"I can't help it if I'm still coughing up blood," he defended. "What would you rather me do, swallow it?"

"Point taken, but it's still gross!"

"I told you that staying with me wasn't going to be fun."

"I know, I know." Allie squinted through the gloomy forest and saw a familiar, large shape ahead. "Look, there's Mel's manor!" The forest, they had found out, could be used as a shortcut to both her's, Melanie's, and Kelly's homes. Not a very convenient shortcut, for one would often get muddy on rainy days, but a shortcut none the less.

"Oh, joy."

"Don't worry, I won't take long. I'll say good-bye, get your clothes, hopefully get my borrowed clothes from a year or so ago returned to me, and we can leave by nightfall."

"_What? _It's not even noon!" Kal stopped at the edge of the forest, waiting for her to catch up. "And I have…other things to take care of!"

"I don't know when I'll see them next, so give me some time." She caught up and gave him a questioning look. "And what other things do you have to do?"

"Nothing important."

Allie narrowed her eyes, but dropped the subject. "Fine."

"Mademoiselle Alison!" Matt, one of the guards, recognized her from his post inside the gates. As she closed the distance between them, he looked distrustfully at Kal. "Is that…I mean, must he accompany you again?"

"Yes, he must." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you have nothing to worry about. I'll keep a close eye on him."

"Alright, if you're sure…" He opened the gates for them, staring distrustfully at Kal, who pretended not to notice.

* * *

"Allie!" Mel tackled her as she walked through the door, Kal following behind her. Kelly ran up to Allie and hugged her also, while Kal wandered off to a corner of the room and tried to act invisible.

"I see you're alive," Mel said coolly, after releasing Allie.

"Thanks for the concern," he answered sarcastically.

Allie noted that her friends seemed more uncomfortable in the presence of Kal than they had yesterday. Their eyes were guarded, even fearful, and their bodies were stiff.

"So…" Allie said, trying to break the awkward silence that had fallen. "Uhh…Kal and I are going abroad…so…I'll be one for a while…um.."

"Oh, really? That's…nice." Mel smiled forcedly. "Kal, would you mind if we spoke to Allie in private for a moment?"

"And if I said yes?"

"Please step outside, just for a little bit," Kelly asked, a bit more politely. "It'll only take a minute."

Surprisingly Kal looked at Allie, as if asking her. Allie blinked, confused, then nodded. "Fine," he said.

Mel closed the door after him. "Allie, you can't go with him," Kelly told her.

"Hm? Why?"

"He killed your parents, and all your staff," Mel said. "I examined their…bodies, and the claw marks on them matched those on the Eagle demons from yesterday."

Allie winced, then sat down on the bed. "I know."

"What?" Kelly looked surprised. "How do you know?"

"He told me, after I gained consciousness."

"He _told _you?" Mel sat down next to her, and Kelly followed suit.

"Yes."

"And you still want to go with him?" Kelly asked incredulously.

"Well…yes."

Mel shook her head. "No. We can't let you. He's a murderer, Allie. He may have killed those other demons yesterday in self-defense, but he killed the others in cold blood."

"He's dangerous, Alls," Kelly added.

"I _know_ that," Allie sighed. "But he won't hurt me. He…it's kind of complicated, but he just can't."

"Allie…" Kelly pleaded. "We just wouldn't feel safe letting you go with him. You're like a sister."

"Same with you two." Allie smiled. "and I know you just want for me to be safe. But just look at Kal. I think…well, maybe he just needs a friend. Maybe then he wouldn't be so violent."

Mel shook her head. "Allie, you are truly insane," she sighed, though not unkindly. "And we _do_ usually trust your judgment…but it's just too risky. What if he looses his temper, and hurts you?"

Kal opened the door a little bit and looked in. "I could just as easily hurt in a good mood. Which I _was_ in."

"Kal…" Allie gestured to her two friends.

**_-fine, I'll convince them, if that's what you want- _**He limped into the room and then stood in front of them. "I probably can't convince you that I _won't _hurt her," he began.

Mel raised an eyebrow. "So what are you going to try and convince us of?"

"As I was going to say," Kal continued, "I can show you that I _can't_ hurt her."

Allie shifted nervously. "And, er, h-how will you do that?"

"Like this." Kal held up his hand; held in it was one of his feathers. Before Mel or Kelly could protest, he brought I down towards Allie on an angle, as if he meant to cut her. The next instant, his hand froze and a shallow cut appeared across his chest, a mirror image to the one that would have been inflicted on her. "Now, does that convince you?"

"I…I'm not sure what just happened there," Mel admitted.

"If I try to harm her in any way, the injury will instead be inflicted oppositely on me. It's part of what you may call a bargain we made. Again: do you believe me?"

Kelly shook her head. "No. In fact, this kind of makes you look psychotic."

Allie winced at the fresh wound on Kal. "We should bandage that."

He waved a hand dismissively. "It's nothing. It already stopped bleeding." He turned his attention back to her friends. "Listen here; you're making me frustrated. That's not a good thing. Now, I'll promise not to hurt Alison in any way, shape or form. If she has any problem with me, I'll bring her right back here. And she's almost an adult, so the decision in the end is her own. Believe me, I've been trying to get her to stay with you two, but she's more stubborn than an ass."

"He's telling the truth," Allie said. "And I don't think I'll be putting myself in any life-threatening danger if I go with him. It'd make me happier knowing that I had your consent, so, please?"

Mel sighed. "Alright Allie, if you really want to."

"But," Kelly added, "You'll have to write every week. And if we think something's not right, we'll track you down and _drag_ you back here."

"Thanks! You two are the best!" Allie hugged her friends tightly. "I'll really miss you! And Kieth and Jordon too. Oh! You'll have to tell him happy birthday for me. Or I could just say that in a letter…"

Kal shook his head in mock disgust. "Women." With that, he limped back to the far corner and leaned there with an uninterested expression on his face.

"And that reminds me," Allie said, "I'll need some clothes. And Kal's, from yesterday."

"Of course! We can't be sending you off in just a bloodstained dress!" Mel went over to her wardrobe and started pulling out outfits. "Actually, I think some of these might belong to you."

Kelly nodded towads the foot of Mel's bed, where two paper bags were set. "Those are all of Kal's clothes."

"I'm fine with what I got now," he grumbled. Mel stopped what she was doing and stared at him. His new black shirt already had a tear in it, the one he had inflicted. Then she rolled her eyes and went back to picking out clothes.

"If you as so much bruise her, it'll be hell to pay for you," she promised.

"How nice."

Kelly tried her luck at talking to him, distrust still faintly written on her face. "So…how's your wound from yesterday?"

"Just great. I'm still coughing up blood every few minutes, and that puts me in a horrible, murderous mood."

"Kal!" Allie looked sharply at him. He had _just_ convinced her friends to let her go with him; and here he was, saying more things that involved murder!

Kelly flinched. "That's…good to here. I hope you get better."

_Well, at least she's making an effort._ "So, what should we do for the rest of the day?"

"Well…" Mel paused, an armload of clothes in her arms. "We could attempt at making that pie again…"

After sneaking into the kitchens once last month, they had been inspired to try and cook themselves.

The key word being 'try'. They had already burnt six desserts and three meals.

"That sounds fine to me," Allie said. Kelly nodded in agreement. "Kal?"

He shook his head. "I already told you that I have things to do. I'll e back at nightfall. Fair?"

"I guess…ar you sure? It'll be fun," she asked. Truth be told, it would be qiute amusing to watch the demon bake.

"I'm sure. Au revoir." He limped out of the room and all but slammed the door behind him.

"Huh. I wonder what he's up to," Kelly said out loud.

Allie shrugged. "I guess it's not really our business. As long as he doesn't kill more people."

* * *

Kal took no care to be silent as he came up behind a familiar raven, who was preening itself on the roof of a house. As Death heard him, he turned around sharply.

_Oh, bonjour Kal! What happened to your chest?_

Kal answered Death's question with one of his own. "Where've you been these past days?"

_Ah. Excellent question there…I asked first._

"Just a scratch and a punctured lung."

_Another one? Kal, you should take better care of yourself! Have you no respect for your life?_

"None at all. What are you, my nurse?"

_Well, I _was _with you almost every minute from the age four until nineteen._

"So where were you the last few days?"

Death shifted and went back to preening, breaking eye contact. _Around. Here and there._

"Would 'here and there' include America?" Kal asked inccocently.

The raven hopped a few paces away. _It might,_ he said defensively. _Either way, it's of no concern to you. Just an errand._

Kal smiled coldly. "Of course. It's none of business. It was rude of me to ask, wasn't it?" He stared unblinkingly at the raven, who moved father away. After a few moments of Kal's un-matched eyes on him, the raven broke down.

_Alright! I went to Jessica to try and make a truce! Happy?_

Kal nodded and smiled. "Very. My thanks, _mon ami_." He noticed the bird sigh with relief as he jumped off of the roof and dropped to the street below.

_Now I've got the rest of the day to myself. Probably the last time I'll have any quiet, with the Princess coming with me._ Kal walked idly down the road, humming some song or other.

He paused as a woman paled visibly and pointed him out to another next to her. "That's him! The demon that killed the Lord and Lady! I saw him!"

_Oh. I forgot about her. That's the wench that escaped._ Kal debated what to do with her as people started to look curiously at him. The maid continued to rant.

_You know, all that yelling is really starting to bother me._ Kal cracked his knuckles. _I might as well give her a good send-off._


	13. Chapter 13

A/N- Eee, nice reviews .

* * *

Kal bent over the stream and submerged his hands under the water, smiling to himself. Meanwhile, Death continued his ranting.

_Why did you have to kill that woman? Now the whole village will probably riot! Why must you put yourself in these situations? Do you like the trouble, perhaps?_

"You know how I hate unfinished business," he said. "Why should I have made an exception with her? Just another human after all."

_Just another human?_ Death cried. _Is that what everyone is to you? All those murders, all those woman, men, and children? Just another human?_

"Yes, why?"

_You…I give up! _Death said in exasperation. Kal shrugged as he flew off; he would come back later on. Most likely, he didn't want to leave him alone with the Princess for too long. Nightfall was only hours away, and Kal was betting the raven would find them before they left.

The woman's blood, not yet dry, came off easily under the running water. Kal blinked as the memory of another woman's blood, from another time, returned. He had also washed that blood off in a stream. Blinking again, he shoved the memory out of his mind. It was long ago, too long for him to care.

"_They're always laughing at my eyes. They say they're weird."_

"_Oh, Kal, don't listen to them. Your eyes are very special. Look, aren't they pretty?"_

"_No! I wanna be like everyone else!"_

Kal glanced down and saw that his face was clearly reflected in the water. He slapped the image away, further adding to the likeness to his memory.

_Why the hell am I wearing this? _ He thought to himself, and then discarded his illusion.

"_Kal.."_

"Shut up," he growled out loud. "Just shut up." _Those emotions are useless. That's why you don't have them. Stop being an idiot and think about something else. _To distract himself, he let his mind drift to the mental link between him and the Princess. Almost instantly, he heard her and her friends laughing, smelled the aroma of burning food, and saw everything as if he was inside the kitchen of Melanie's manor.

Kal watched as Allie licked a spoon. "I think maybe it'll turn out this time!"

Kelly pulled what Kal _thought _might be a pie. It was runny on the top, and looked black on the bottom. Kelly displayed it with a look of triumph. "Look! It turned out better this time!"

Mel and Allie crowed around her. "It did!" Mel exclaimed. "We are victorious!" A passing maid, out of the view of the girls, winced at the sight of the pastry and hurried out of the room.

"So," Allie said, "who's going to taste it first?"

Mel took a step back. "Uhhh…."

"How about Kal?" Kelly suggested. "He probably wouldn't notice."

Kal rolled his eyes. _'He probably wouldn't notice', eh? What, do they think I'm stupid? It looks like it'd be used to kill rats!_

"Probably not," Allie sighed. "It looks like it'd be used to kill rats." She blinked confusedly. "Wait, where did _that_ come from?"

"I don't know, but you called out _masterpiece_," Mel pointed to the pie, "rat poison! That deserves…_having to take the first taste_!" she finished dramatically. Kelly nodded and set it down on a counter. "I agree. Does anyone here object to our final decision?" she called out to the empty room. Allie tried to edge away, only to be caught by Mel. A fork was put in her hand.

_Heh. This is almost as fun as killing people,_ Kal thought, smiling twistedly. _I wonder if she'll gag._

Allie hesitantly swallowed as small piece as Mel and Kelly looked on intently. "Well?" Kelly asked.

Allie held up her hand and ran to the nearest trash bin, where the pie and some of her lunch ended up. "Lovely," she coughed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Just lovely."

Mel sighed as Kelly tossed the pie into the trash bin. "Well, we tried."

"Yes," Allie said, straightening up. "We tried."

Kelly rolled her eyes. "And failed miserably." The three nodded in-sync.

Kal, still at the stream, laughed loudly. _So childish!_

* * *

Allie, still a little pale, looked around the kitchen quickly.

"What?" Mel followed her gaze, trying to see what she was looking at. Allie shook her head.

"I could've sworn I felt Kal here, just a second ago."

"_Felt_?" Kelly asked incredulously.

"You know, like….sensed him, kind of. Like when you know somebody's behind you or anything." She shuddered and ran a hand through her hair. "Creepy."

"Tell me about it," Mel muttered. "If you're using him in a sentence, 'creepy' is an understatement. He's downright repulsive."

Allie shrugged slowly. "Well…"

"Oh God," Kelly breathed. "Don't tell us that you _like_ him!"

"What?" Allie's jaw dropped. "Oh God no!" She held up her right hand in a warding gesture to emphasize her answer. "I just meant you kind of get used to it, after a while! That's all! I swear!"

**_-and besides, I'd probably slaughter her anyways, eh?-_**

They all jumped as Kal's voice echoed in their heads, though Allie was the only one lucky enough to receive the headache that came from Kal's telepathy.

_I just get all the luck, don't I? _She thought grimly. Out loud, she said, "So now you're spying on me?"

_**-I was bored. In case you're interested, I'm coming over in a few minutes-**_

Mel and Kelly were looking at Allie, confused. _And I can't blame them. How often does _this _happen in a lifetime?_ "It's alright, it's just him talking. In our heads."

**_-that's right, don't be scared, little humans-_** Kal said sarcastically**_. -Princess, if you want spare clothes, get them. I'll be there in a moment-_**

"Whatever happened to 'please'," she said to the air, only to be answered by silence_. Kal must be on his way here. _"Alright Mel, Kelly. I guess I have to leave now.." Allie felt herself tearing up after saying it. They were practically her family. How long would it be till she saw them again? Weeks? Months?

"I guess," Kelly echoed.

"Yeah," Mel said. "Well, let's get your stuff."

"Okay.." Allie walked behind Mel as they went up to her room. _Idiot, you knew that you were going to be leaving for a long time! You knew that when you first told them, when you were begging them to let you go! Why're you getting so choked up now?_

Inside the room, Mel lifted the large cloth bag off her bed and handed it to Allie. "Well, this should be everything you need. Clothing, soap, a brush and comb, hair ribbons, a hand mirror…you can always write to us if you need more."

Allie struggled a little bit under the weight of the bag and laughed. "I think you have me covered!" Kelly and Mel smiled, not wanting to be gloomy.

"You'll have to promise to come here on holidays!" Kelly told her.

"Are you joking? Of course I will! And I'll _defiantly_ be here on New Year's!"

"And Halloween, right?" Mel asked. "You can't miss the mask party!"

Allie nodded and shifted the bag uncomfortably in her arms. "I won't. Maybe I'll bring Kal."

Mel frowned uncertainly. "Only if you want to." Trying to lighten up a bit, she forced a smile. "He _would_ look interesting all dressed up, in a funny mask."

**_-I'm sure I would-_** Kal said dryly, voice sounding through all of their heads. **_-don't count on seeing me like that, though. Princess, the window-_**

Puzzled, Allie looked over towards the window. It was dark out, but she could see the outline of a person. More clearly, though, she saw the glowing red eyes. "Why're you _there?_" She crossed the room towards the window, which Kelly opened. The cool night air breezed in. Kal was perched on the window-sill, wings folded on his back.

"Too much effort to use the front door. You coming?"

Allie passed the bag to him. "Yes, I'm coming," she answered, a little tiredly. She turned around and hugged her friends tightly. "I'll keep in touch. Promise."

"Don't forget to keep safe!" Mel reminded her, brown eyes a bit wet. Kal waved from his spot.

"That's what I'm for."

Kelly rolled her eyes. "_That _reassures us. Remember, if you so much as even _touch_ her--" She was cut off as Kal reached into the room and picked Allie up in his arms, holding her bride-style.

'"Well, would you look at that, I'm _touching_ her!"

Allie glared at him. "Give it a rest." His response was to put the heavy bag in her arms. Rolling her eyes, she smiled at her friends. "Au revoir, Kelly, Mel. I'll be writing you really soon."

"Au revoir, Allie!" the both said. "Love you!"

"I love you guys too," Allie said as Kal grimaced, spreading his wings to take off.

"Bye!" They yelled as Kal flew away, soon blending into the dark.

* * *

Kal relaxed at the feel of the cool, wet night air on his skin. His wings carried them almost directly under the storm clouds.

_Heh, _love. _Idiotic humans and their stupid, worthless emotions._

Allie shifted in his arms as she tried to stifle a sneeze. "I'm getting wet, " she complained.

"So?"

"So, can we--you--fly a little lower?"

Kal glanced at her a moment, then kept his eyes straight ahead. True to his suspicions, Death had returned. He flew with them, not ten feet away. The raven was keeping an easy pace with Kal, but not for long, he knew; Death often had problems going at Kal's speed for more than a short period of time. "Why should I?"

"Because I just got over my fever, and all of this cold and dampness will make me sick all over again." She crossed her arms defiantly and glared up at him.

"Aren't you going to _order_ me, Princess?" he asked, smirking. She sighed in frustration, then said, slowly, as if she was talking to a small child, "If I order you to do everything I ask, you'll never trust me.

"I'll never trust you regardless," he told her curtly. Through their link, he could tell that she felt hurt. _Oh well. Her feelings aren't _my_ problem. _"But, if it's so important, I'll go down a bit." He folded his wings and dropped a few feet, drawing a shriek form the Princess, before re-opening them and continuing their route. "I scare you?"

"Yes."

"So sorry."

She elbowed him in the chest. "Are you _always_ sarcastic?"

Kal shrugged. "Pretty much. D'you have a problem with that?"

"I was just wondering if you've ever said an apology or thanks and actually _meant_ it." She paused, then said "And I suppose that if I did have a problem, you wouldn't care. Am I right?"

Kal thought a moment. "To the first question: no. To the second: yes."

"Then why did you become my….what is it again…_protector_, if you don't care?"

Kal felt Allie looking up at him, staring holes in his face with her icy blue eyes. _Why does she need a answer for all of my actions? I'm evil and half-mad; she doesn't really need to know anything past that._ He just shrugged.

"For God's sake!" She struggled into a sitting position and glared angrily into his eyes. Kal craned his neck to look around her.

"You're blocking my view."

"Damn your view! If you keep on saying things like 'I'm so evil, I have to kill everyone, humans are worthless-and-so-are-your-feelings', I'll-!"

"Do what, Princess? Kill me? Kill yourself? Really, I don't care about either one."

"I noticed," she grumbled, then lowered herself into her former position. He listened to her mumbling about how stubbornly ignorant he was before he tuned out, focusing instead on his flying.

* * *

Death watched as Kal flew with the Princess. He followed not too far behind, staying as close as he dared.

_I wonder where he's going. Not back to the cabin, that's certain. The ocean, maybe? Another forest?_

Ahead, he could distantly hear the Princess arguing with Kal. Death truly admired her for that; not many would outwardly disagree with Kal, let alone start an argument. Not if they wanted to live that is.

_I wonder why he hasn't harmed her. He's her protector, sure, but he seems to have a better temperament around her. A little more patience, dare I think it._

Keeping his eyes on the demon that he'd seen slaughter so many people, some exactly like the Princess, he mulled their argument over in his head.

Why _are_ you putting up with her?


	14. Chapter 14

A/N- Why is it that I have nothing interesting to say? Ah well. I shall end this rather pointless with a random fact : There are more than 1,000 chemicals in a cup of coffee. Of these, only 26 have been tested, and half caused cancer in rats.

Those poor rats.

Oh! And regarding any money-issues in this chapter-- I have no idea about the currency, so I may have made something up. Please bear with my franc-illiterate-ness (since I really have no idea if hundred franc-notes exist). Or blame it on Kal. (muaha).

* * *

Kal landed behind a tree shortly after dawn. After retracting his wings into his back, he shook the Princess, who was sleeping deeply.

"Mmmm?" she mumbled. "What? What is it?" She yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"We're here," he told her, and then promptly dropped her onto the wet grass. Her bag landed beside her.

"Ow!" Allie stood up stiffly and leaned against the tree trunk. "I'm up, there's no need to drop me!" Brushing the clinging blades of grass off of her dress, she looked around. The rising sun tinted the sky a rosy-grey color. A thin layer of mist hug over the ground. "Where are we, exactly?"

"D'Avingnon. We're here for supplies."

"We are?"

"Yes." Kal scanned the street for any early risers; none were in sight. After thinking a moment, he resigned himself to wearing his almost-human illusion. It wouldn't do him any good today if the humans decided they were in an angry-mob sort of mood. "You can stay in the pub there; it should be empty enough. And don't get too drunk; I don't want you throwing up all over me."

He saw Allie look distastefully at the dingy, worn-down bar. "Are you joking? I'm not going in there!"

"Yes, you are, Princess. And if anyone asks, you're Anna Deroi, and you're a housemaid." He chuckled to himself at the look on her face; he'd thought she would have a reaction of this. And, despite the fact that it was incredibly amusing, he couldn't have her being recognized as Alison Destra: too many questions. People of her status didn't go unescorted--or escorted by a demon.

The last of Allie's weariness was replaced by annoyance. "And where will _you_ be while I'm left alone in that filthy rat-nest?"

"Around. And, for the record, you won't be alone."

Allie frowned. "What? Is Death coming with me?"

Kal looked up into the tree; Death was perched on a branch, resting after his flight. "Nah, I don't feel like waking him up. I'm sure the bar rats would be more than happy to keep you company, though."

"Oh, that is just gross! Oh, _ew_!"

"Then don't whine about being lonely while I'm gone. Au revoir." He raised a hand and walked off. He had only gone a few steps when Allie stopped him by grabbing the back of his shirt. Sighing, Kal looked over his head and gave the emotion 'patience' a shot. "Yes?"

"I don't have any money," she said, flushing with embarrassment. And, being born into wealth like hers, having no money to buy herself a drink would have been an entirely alien dilemma.

Kal dug out some money from one of his pockets and tossed it over his shoulder. It was early enough that the Princes wouldn't wonder where he had obtained it, and that was probably a good thing.

Humans weren't fond of taking money off of the dead.

"Merci," she said under her breath. "They do have water there, right?"

Kal shrugged and went on his way.

"Well, I'll see you when you get back, then!" she called after him, "and don't forget about me!"

"I won't," Kal said. In an undertone that she was too far away to hear, he added "but I'm not making any promises."

* * *

Allie sat down at the farthest table from the door, in a shadowed corner. Some of the early morning sunlight filtered through the dirty windows, but not enough for sufficient light. Candles, set into black iron holders and dripping wax down the wooden walls, were the main sources of lighting. They cast flickering shadows over a few of the men who had passed out at a table three spaces away from hers. The bartender stood behind the counter, wiping it down with a damp rag.

Allie shuddered in disgust. _Why_, she thought, _did I agree to stay here? For all I know, he won't be back for hours! And I can't just wander around town, because then, if he came here looking for me earlier, he'd be angry because I wasn't here, knowing him! Which I don't…but still! Ah, merde!_

"You having anything, Ma'am'selle?" the bartender asked.

"Um….just water, s'il vous plais."

"Alright." he filled up a glass and brought it to her table, muttering "It's on the house."

"Thanks." Allie took a sip of water, then waited until the bartender had his back turned before spitting it out into the glass. _Makes sense why it's on the house! It's _disgusting_! Ew! _Allie set the glass down on the table and took the time to fix her hair; it had mostly fallen out of her braid, anyways.

As she untied the ribbon, she cast wary looks around the bar, seeing if there was anything other that drunks lurking in the corners. As it was, the whole place was rather small (it could have fit into her bedroom--before it was destroyed, obviously--twice over, with room to spare), and there were no rats that she could see. Allie had always had a problem with rats; they were smelly, dirty, disease-ridden, flea bitten pests; in short, every thing she hated.

"Well, would ya' look at tha'!" One of the men woke up and smiled blearily at her. "Iss a lil' noble!" he slurred.

_Speaking of flea-bitten pests…_ Allie lifted a hand in a greeting and tried a smile that turned out looking more than a grimace. "Bonjour," she said shortly, then looked away. As she re-did her braid, she could feel him staring at her, and the yawns as the others woke up.

_Lovely. Just _perfect. _How did I go from being Alison Destra, the princess, to sitting in a dingy little bar waiting for an extremely violent demon? _

_Just great._

* * *

Kal paused outside the shop to put his black leather gloves on; if he touched someone who happened to have a pure heart or soul--and, annoyingly, this seemed to happen a lot-- it wouldn't put him in a good mood to have the skin on his hands scorched off.

Kal pushed open the door and walked in. Various types of weaponry hung the left wall; pistols and muskets adorned the right. The wall directly in front of him held the necessary scabbards and belts for the respective weapons. A stocky, balding man sat off in a corner, sharpening a dagger. He looked up at the sound of the door closing and set the dagger down on the chair, standing up.

"May I help you?"

Kal double-checked that his hair covered his left, unnaturally colored eye. "I'd like to look around for a minute, first."

The shop owner sat back down, but kept an eye on him. "Alright. Don't fool around with anything."

Kal nodded and drifted towards the left wall. There were swords and rapiers, daggers and scimitars. He took down a long, slender sword, and examined the pommel; it was small. _Probably the right hand-size…_The double-edges were sharpened to a razor-sharpness, and the metal was smooth and well-forged. Looking back at he wall, he saw it had a twin. He took it down and set them both on a counter that ran along the wall.

_I should get some daggers…_ Kal paced along the wall before picking out a boot-knife the size of his hand. _This would be useful…_ He chose another of the same make, followed by two long-bladed daggers. After checking the size of the grip for all of them, he brought them to a desk in the corner, along with the two swords. Then he chose a leather belt to put the daggers in, and two shoulder-straps and sheaths for the swords.

"Is that all?" The owner walked over to the desk and took inventory of all the items.

"I'll need a whetstone; no, two would be better."

As he put them next to the weapons, Kal dug some money out of his pockets. Counting through it briefly, he realized that there probably wasn't enough. _I could just steal them…but I have been meaning to try some illusions. Other than disguising myself._ Not sure how to go about using his magic, he pictured a hundred-franc in his other hand. He felt the usual straining feeling that came from lack of the proper magical strength. Without stopping to think (which was an extremely common case for Kal), he substituted the magical energy with his own physical energy and strength, which there was enough of. _Too _much of, for his enemies' likings.

And, as what usually happened, he immediately felt drained.

The illusioned money _did _appear in his hand though.

_Isn't _that _good_, he thought grimly, fighting back a cough. The puncture in his lung had re-opened_. As long as I can pay for a bunch of worthless, human crafted--_

Before Kal lost his temper, he set his money on the desk and picked up the weaponry in his arms. Without waiting to see if he had paid over, he left the shop.

_Beggars can't be choosers_, he told himself, and spat a small amount of blood onto the street, drawing a disapproving look from a passing human. _You wanted to use the magic you don't have, and you paid for it._

_It really just makes me want to kill something, though. _

Kal turned into an alley formed by two shops. It was dark and cool, a relief from that devil-cursed sun. _Why does it always have to rise so quickly?_

Kal sat down at the end of the alley, blending into the shadows as he dropped his illusion.

_The Princess can wait a minute while I take a break _Not that Kal was tired; he rarely was. He just need a break from humans.

_They can all go to hell as far as I'm concerned. The Princess included._

* * *

_Kaaaaaaaaal…_ Allie whined in her head as she edged backwards, away from a boy about her age. _Where are you?_

He had left her here at dawn; now it was the afternoon! _What could he be doing that's taking so long?_

"People say they read me like a book," the guy was saying. Pause. "D'you read brail?"

"Ummm…please back up."

He took a step backwards, than lost his footing and toppled onto her. "Whoops!"

Allie almost was happy when a certain person picked the guy off of her and tossed him into the wall. "Whoops," he echoed.

"What _took_ you?" Allie complained.

"I was only gone for five hours."

"_Only five hours?"_

Kal shrugged in resignation and walked out of the bar, Allie following on his heels.

"What were you doing for _five hours? _And what's in that bag? Please tell me it's not something dead…ah! _My bag_! Where's my bag? I must've left it behind the tree--"

"Stop your babbling!" Kal snapped. "Gods, how anyone could put up with a noisy, obnoxious little blonde like you is beyond my imagination!" He stopped behind the tree and shoved her bag at her. "Hold onto it or leave it here." He picked her up and tossed his bag into her lap then took off, flapping angrily. They were soon under the clouds, moving faster than usual.

A minute of awkward silence passed before Allie broke it. "What's in the bag?" she repeated nervously.

"Swords. And daggers," he said shortly.

"Oh. You bought them?"

"No, Death did."

"I didn't know you could use a sword."

"I can't."

"Then why….?"

Kal glared at her a moment. "They're for you, idiot."

Allie looked at the bag. "Well…that's a very…_thoughtful_ gift, but I don't know how to use them."

"You're going to learn."

"I am?"

"Yes."

"Who's going to teach me? You?"

"Weren't you listening when I said I don't know how? You're going to learn from someone else!" Kal snapped, the added "Stupid."

"Why are you always insulting me?"

"Because you annoy me."

"The why did you become my protector?"

"I. Don't. KNOW! _Stop asking me that_!"

Allie flinched and looked away. "Alight, alright, calm down," she said quietly. Kal laughed coldly.

"What reason do I have to be calm, eh? Tell me that."

Allie stayed quiet, hoping to find an answer. Luckily, she was spared the necessity of finding one. "Bonjour Death! How did you sleep?"

The raven came in line with them. _Well enough, Alison, thank you for asking. And yourself?_

"Decently."

_That's nice to hear._ Death's voice took on a careful tone. _You, Kal?_

"How do I _usually _sleep?"

Death sighed in their heads, and Allie guessed that this question had been asked before.

_Not at all._

"Exactly. Do the Princess a favor and fly ahead. Tell them that she's coming."

_Of course. I will be seeing you later, Alison. _Death flew ahead as Kal slowed down.

"Who is he telling that I'm coming? And where am I going?"

"The people that are going to train you in swordsmanship and self-defense."

Allie rolled her eyes. "Nice. And when did you decide this?"

Kal shrugged. "A day or so ago. I'm your protector, but there's no reason for you to be completely helpless." He waited a beat, then added, "They'll also be teaching you on how to control and use your magic."

"Huh? I have magic?"

Kal nodded. "And quite powerful illusionary magic, too. You'll learn to use it."

"Wait." Allie shook her head, confused. "I can't have magic. Wouldn't I know if I did?"

"Don't ask me, ask them."

"And who's 'them'?"

Kal dived to the ground and landed in front of a large house. Outside, a small group of people were standing together. They were all dressed in black breeches and shirts, even the girls. They all had black hair…

…and bright red eyes.

"That would be them."


	15. Chapter 15

A/N- Sorry about the delay, couldn't get enough time to write. And the identity of the red-eyed peoples ( I like that word… "peoples"…haha.) will be revealed in this chapter. Yay.

* * *

The only sounds made was the dull, metal clinking of Kal's feathers when he retracted his wings into his back. Everyone stared fixedly at him as he set Alison down on her feet.

One of them, a woman with frizzy black hair, muttered something to the others under her breath. After a moment, they all vanished into thin air.

"Teleportation," Kal muttered to the Princess under his breath. Straightening up, he addressed the remaining person. "Mina. The years have been treating you well."

Mina glared at him, red eyes flashing. "Don't attempt pleasantries, bastard." She then turned to Alison and smiled warmly. "Bonjour, Mlle. Allie! And welcome!"

Kal held back a laugh as Allie looked nervously from Mina to him, obviously confused about Mina's mood towards him. "Uhh…thank you?" Allie offered.

"No problem at all! We're more than willing to train you!" She switched back to being cold as she looked at Kal. "You. Bring her belongings and then leave. Or else." With a final glare, Mina disappeared as the others had.

Kal took Allie's bags from her. "Coming?"

"Uh, yes….what was that all about?"

Kal shrugged and walked toward the house. As he remembered it, there was an old wooded sign hanging over the door, engraved with gothic letters that read "The BlackRose Inn". "I stayed here once, a few years back. Broke all of their furniture. I guess they're still angry about it."

"I'd be too. What exactly _are_ they?"

"Half-blooded demons. They're also extremely advanced in most types of sorcery." Kal stood in front of the inn and looked pointedly at Allie.

She frowned. "What?" she asked. "I don't have something in my teeth, do I?"

"Open the door."

"Oh. Right." Allie opened the door followed Kal in.

Kal froze after a few steps into the entrance room.

A dozen other Kals also froze.

Cursing under his breath, he averted his eyes to the hardwood floor_. Damn them!_

"What is it, bastard? You don't like our mirrors? We just re-decorated!" A different woman came in. Her hair was cut short and stuck out messily in different directions.

Kal had always loathed mirrors. He didn't have a reason in particular. He just _hated _them. Every time Kal saw one, he just…lost it. His mind, that was, until he had successfully destroyed it. A great deal of mirrors in one place magnified that insanity tenfold. For Kal, it was the worst sort of torture he could think of.

And unfortunately, the owners of the inn knew it.

"I'll be seeing you later on, Princess," he said through his clenched teeth. "Au revoir." He shoved the bags into her arms and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Allie stood there with her bags. _That was…odd. Now what? Oh God, look at my hair!_

"Hello, Allie." The woman snapped her fingers and the mirrors vanished, replaced by normal walls, covered In dark red paper. "I'm Tammy."

"Nice to meet you," Allie said, trying not to gape. _Were those mirrors…an illusion_?

"Come on, over here." Tammy lead her to a door. "You're going to meet everyone else."

"Alright…" Allie followed Tammy through the door and into another room, this one smaller. Five people sat on two long couches that faced each other, a coffee table in between. A small chandelier served as the lighting.

"That's Mina, whom you've met, Paul, and Julie." Tammy indicated Mina, Paul, whose black hair fell into his eyes, and Julie, whose hair nearly reached past her waist. "And that's Sarah, Christina--or Chris--,and Michael." She pointed to the other couch. Sarah was slim and shy-looking; Chris's hair was cut like Paul's. Michael was completely different from the rest of the red-eyed and black-haired group. His hair was a light brown, and his eyes were sky-blue, behind a pair of thick-lensed glasses. He wore a baggy white shirt over the same style of pants. He was visibly the tallest in the room. Tammy left Allie and sat down next to him, leaning against his shoulder. The two made exact opposites.

_He doesn't look like he's half-demon, or a sorcerer._

"Sit." Julie pointed to a comfortable-looking chair near where Allie was standing.

Allie sat down and set her things on the floor next to her, folding her hands in her lap. _So…now what do I say? Lovely weather out? Nice place you have? Your eyes look strange? No, definitely not that…_

"Hi," Paul said, staring bluntly at her. He had the look of a child about him, and Mina looked at him that way.

"Paul, behave yourself," she warned him.

"I am!" he whined. "Why don't you tell that to Tammy? She'll probably lock her up in the dungeons!"

"Huh?" Allie started, looking nervously at Tammy, who didn't seem to notice.

"Shut up," she said absently to Paul. Michael nudged her in the ribs and she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know, be nice. _Keh deh sa _too."

"See? I don't even have to say it," Michael laughed. Allie noticed that he had a slight accent that she couldn't place.

"So, Allie," Mina said. By the way she spoke, Allie guessed that she was the leader (boss?) of her group. "Michael will show you up to your room, where you'll find a change of clothes. That frilly dress won't help with your training. After that, Tammy will come and take you to the basement. There, she'll give you an introduction on how to use illusionary magic. After that, I'll do the same for protection spells. Then you'll help out in the Inn. This will be your schedule for a week. After that, Julie will tutor you on the use of your swords and daggers, and Tammy will teach you basic defense techniques. Any questions so far?"

Allie shook her head mutely, wondering hoe she was going to remember all of this.

"Good. After that, you'll alternate on magic and defense for the rest of the month. By the end of the month, you should be at least an intermediate in both. We'll expect you to practice after our leave, of course. If you do, you'll eventually reach an expert level within a year or so. Is this all clear?"

Allie nodded again. "One question?"

"Go."

"What do you mean exactly by me 'helping out' in here?"

Chris answered the question. "To earn your stay."

"Oh. Alright, I guess." Allie stood up and gathered up her bags. "Now where's my room, exactly?"

Mina looked pointedly at Michael.

"Oh!" He stood up. "I'll be showing you to that." He paused and sniffed the air. "Tammy, is our lunch supposed to smell like that?"

"Merde!" she swore, and disappeared.

Michael, laughing, walked out of the room. "Follow me, Allie."

Allie hurried after him, not wanting to get lost in this inn full of demons. She followed him through yet another door and up a staircase. "If you don't mind me asking…" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Nope. Ask away."

"Are you a demon? Like them, I mean? Sorry, if I'm sounding rude, but you just look so different, and.."

"No, it's fine. And no, I'm not a demon." He paused, then took a right after they reached a landing with two sets of stairs. "I'm--"

"--an angel," Tammy finished, appearing in front of them. Michael stumbled backwards.

"Ah! Why do you always have to do that?"

Tammy re-appeared behind him. "This?"

"Yes! It's startling!"

" I know."

Allie blinked. "You're joking."

Michael frowned. "No, it really _does _startle me. I don't know about you, but--"

"I meant the part about you being an angel."

"Well, he _is_," Tammy said. "Angels are essentially guardians that have wings, not the religious icons you humans are lead to believe. Well, at least he is. I don't know about the others. I could be wrong."

Allie just blinked again. "You're an angel."

"Yes."

"A real angel."

"Yes."

"With wings."

"Yes, I'm an angel with wings."

"The angel Michael?"

Michael shook his head. "I don't really know anything about Christianity. My name is just Michael."

"Oh." _Things just keep getting stranger and stranger. Ok, so far, I'm in an inn that is owned by five half-demons and an angel. And some of the said demons are going to be my teachers._

_That is just messed up._

"I better get back to the lunch," Tammy said. "Unless you'd rather eat charcoal."

"Honestly, I probably wouldn't notice."

"So true. See you later." Tammy gave him a quick hug and disappeared.

"Alright, so I think we were going…this way." Michael continued on in the direction they had been going.

Allie realized something. "She like you, doesn't she?"

"Uh…yes." Michael took a left down a corridor. "She's sort of my…girlfriend, as your kind would put it."

"Oh." She paused, thinking. "Can angel court demons?"

Michael looked uncomfortable. "Ummm…sort of." He stopped in front of a door with numbered "24" in brass. "Here's your room. I should be going to help set the tables for the guests…au revoir." He turned and walked away quickly.

_Huh. I must've embarrassed him or something._ Shrugging her shoulders, she opened the door to her room.

* * *

Sarah sat in a chair as she watched Tammy go about making lunch. "So, what do you think of the Princess?"

"Meh." Tammy took a boiling kettle of water off its burner and set it on the counter. Their old-fashioned, wood burning-stoves made the kitchen smell like smoke all of the time. It stuck to all of Tammy's clothes, and anyone else's who stepped in the kitchen for more than a few minutes.

"Is that a 'she's okay' 'Meh', or a 'she's just an inferior human' 'Meh'?"

"She's alright, I guess. A little on the…I don't know, _girly _side, I guess."

Sarah laughed. "Tammy, most of us are girls."

Tammy rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. She's more…pampered. I doubt she'll be able to go through a fight routine without worrying about her hair, or her nails, or wrecking her clothes."

"I get your point," Sarah sighed, still smiling. Of all of them, she was the 'girly-est , but she was deadly in a fight. She just paid the most attention to her hair. "I wonder why she would want to stay with Kalendrakk. No offense, but that bastard and Allie are like you and Michael."

"Yeah, I get your point." Tammy stirred a pot of soup. Tammy, unlike the others, was a pure-blooded demon. "The only thing that could be more different than an angel and a demon in an abomination like Kalendrakk and a human."

"I just hope tha he doesn't try and hurt her. Allie seems like a nice girl. To me, anyways."

Tammy nodded. "And that's what were trying to prevent. Hopefully, she'll pay attention in our lessons."

* * *

"Well, it's not so bad," Allie said aloud to her reflection, turning in front of the full-length mirror. The clothes they had given her were an exact copy of their own. Allie's shirt was more fitted, though, as were the pants. The sleeves of the shirt ended at the elbow, where they were replaced by iron arm-braces. And, like the rest of her outfit, they were painted black.

Her room was nice, though a little small for her taste. A bed with a red blanket was against one wall, a dresser and mirror on the other. There was a window, but it was covered by thick curtains. A piece of paper nailed to the door said that the bathroom was down the hall.

Allie sat down on her bed and began to brush her hair out, as she hadn't been able to do much at the bar. _It's getting a bit long, _she thought. _Maybe I could trim it a bit later on_. Her hair had definitely grown out this summer, almost reaching her waist. _Nothing like Tammy's or Chris's. How can they live with hair so short? And what can they do with it, other than brush it back? _

Her brush snagged a knot and she winced. _Stupid knots. After this, I think I'll take a bath. Oh God, I hope they have one!_ Allie shuddered at the thought. _They'd better_.

She finished brushing her hair and plaited it into its customary braid. She had no sooner finished it when Tammy appeared in front of her, causing her to jump. _That_ is _startling!_

"You ready?"

"Yes." Allie stood up. Even though she wasn't very tall, she was still an inch or so taller than the demon. Tammy was a little short. "This isn't going to be boring or anything, will it?"

"Depends. Do you like the idea of basic illusionary magic?"

"Well…."

Tammy rolled her eyes. "Just don't fall asleep, that's all I'm asking."


	16. Chapter 16

A/N- Well, I suppose this chapter is a little late…or more than a little. I got sidetracked again (-.-;) HATE it when that happens.

* * *

Allie blinked; she could've _sworn_ they were in her room, not a second ago! Now they were in a large, plain room, with stone walls and a stone ceiling, both of which bore gauge marks. Tammy leaned casually against one of the walls, watching Allie's reaction.

"How did we get here?"

"Idiot, do you know anything?" Tammy snapped. "I teleported us here. Pay attention!"

Allie flinched at under the scolding. "Yes, ma'am." _I'll have to watch my tongue around her…talk about a short temper. Won't _this _be fun._

"So. What do you know about illusionary magic?"

Allie's mind raced. "Uhh…you can make…illusions with it?"

Tammy sighed in exasperation. "About enough to fit on the head if a pin, then. Alright, sit." She waved her hand an a wooden stool appeared next to Allie, who sat down on it quickly.

"Firstly, this type of magic is as much about the user's imagination as their abilities; if you can't picture the thing you want to change, duplicate, or create, it won't happen. For example, I could disguise myself." Tammy's features blurred and began to shift. "But if I can't form a mental image on how I want the illusion of another face to appear…" Her face finished shifting and remained a mess of twisted flesh and blurred features. Ignoring Allie's disgust and shock, she continued. "But if I know how I want to appear and can picture it…" In a split second, Allie was looking into a face that was a mirror image of her own. " That's the most common form of this sort of magic; helpful if you don't want to be noticed. Better for beginners if they look into a mirror until they're comfortable with it. I being clear enough for you so far?"

Allie blinked as the illusion melted away. "Um, yes. You have to see or picture what you want to make different."

"Good enough. That's only the first part, a novice task. We'll wok on that for this week, and then move onto the next step, manipulating the magic to form solid objects. And you'll get an assignment you have to finish by the morrow, every day."

"Do I have to? It sounds like….well, a lot of work."

"If you want, you can just work as a maid as a substitute for tutoring. I'm sure you'd feel defiantly after a month of changing dirty bed sheets and scrubbing floors."

Allie shuddered inwardly at the suggestion. "On the other hand, assignments sound just fine."

"Good. Now, continuing on changing appearances…."

* * *

Mina appeared next to Tammy. "How did it go?"

Allie crossed her arms, put off. "I'm right here."

"I realize that. I was asking Tammy. Well?" She raised an eyebrow at said demon, who shrugged.

"Meh. I wouldn't call it wonderful. She behaved well enough, didn't speak out." Tammy flipped her hair out of her garnet eyes. "Upset a little easily, though."

Allie shuddered as Mina rolled her eyes. "Did you _have_ to use gory illusions to demonstrate?"

Tammy pretended to look hurt. "You know my eyeballs-hanging-out-oft-the-sockets trick is my favorite one! Besides, she didn't throw up."

"Just barely," Allie muttered under her breath. Mina laughed. "You're released from duty. Go make something sugary, will you?"

Just as Allie was about to object about being ordered to bake, Tammy nodded and disappeared from sight. Mina looked at her and leaned against the wall. "So you're really tolerating that bastard, huh?"

"Who?"

"The Kalendrakk. While you're living with us, you'll also hear him referred to as a cad, a monster, a freak of nature, an annoyance, a disgrace to demon kind, and various other insults."

"What, 'a human' isn't included?" Allie asked dryly, remembering Kal saying being called a human was one of the worse insults he'd had.

"No, he's worse than that," Mina said. Allie grumbled to herself. _Just my luck to be stuck with a bunch of half-demons who all think humans are scum, and Kal's _lower _than scum. I wonder what that is…rot? _

"Don't strain your mind over it; everyone here just loathes him. Get used to it, 'cause it's like that almost everywhere."

Allie nodded numbly, meanwhile feeling pity for the demon. _What must it be like, going places and immediately being hated for yourself? God, that must be awful._

"Sit up, you'll ruin your back with that bad posture."

"I had enough of that from my etiquette tutors; I don't need it from you," Allie grumbled, slumping forward more purposely. When her teacher said anything, it would always be "Sit up straight, don't drag your feet, don't crack your knuckles." Allie got sick of it years and years ago; and she didn't want to go through the same 'proper' hell when she wouldn't be needing it.

Mina examined her nails. "If you said anything like that to Tammy or Julie, you do realize that they would forcibly correct your posture, right?"

"No.."

"Let me give you an example, then." Although Mina didn't even glance up at her, Allie immediately felt a constricting force around her, pinning her arms at her side and forcing her to sit up straight. "Simple energy-field, bent around your body. I could snap your neck right now with giving it as much thought as taking a breath of air. Conjuring these are essential in protection spells and such; you can make an invisible wall around you so that your enemies can't touch you. Interesting, n'est pas?"

_God, it's like iron! _Allie tried twisting her body, but the invisible force holding her immobile held. "Mind removing this…thing?"

"Oh." Mina glanced up and Allie was able to move freely again. "Effective, eh? Don't try using one on Kalendrakk, though; they don't work on him."

"Why's that?"

"No idea. Just him being the freak he is."

"Hey, I wouldn't be calling the kettle black," Allie tossed at her. "Do you look in mirrors, or d'you just think you have normal eyes like everyone else?"

"I do have normal eyes like everyone else," Mina replied, "if the population in question are demons. Red is an extremely common eye color for a demon, which I am, and if you would've given your words _any _thought, you might've realized that and not have embarrassed yourself. Now you've thrown me off topic. Not that I really started the topic yet," she added.

Allie looked apprehensively at Mina. _Is everyone in here mad,_ she wondered, _or am I?_

"It's extremely easy for anyone with the slightest drop of magic to use protection spells. Though your magic is centered around illusions, you should be able to get the hang of them."

Allie was tired of everyone assuming she _wanted_ to learn this stuff; until an hour ago, she didn't even know she _had_ magic! Instead of getting into an argument, she just sat there obediently like the princess she'd been brought up as. While Mina lectured her on protection spells and their origins, she let her mind drift.

_I wonder what Kal's doing at this moment…_

* * *

_What are you doing? And where did you get that thing?_ Death hopped nervously to a higher tree branch as Kal landed on a larger one, holding a black case.

"I'm bored," he snapped. "And it isn't against the law for me to play an instrument, is it?" He sat on the base of the branch and opened the case, revealing a violin composed of entirely black material. "Unless, of course, it just happens to be _me_ playing it."

_It is if you stole it! And before you can say anything, I know you stole it because there is no possible way you could afford that thing!_

Kal picked up the instrument carefully by its neck. It was demon-made, out of a type of cursed tree that used to be common in the Netherworld, hence the reason for it being completely black. The strings were so dark a red they appeared black at first, until the sun hit them. They had been painted, he knew, with blood. The entire thing was so heavy with demon spells and enchantments that it would be impossible for any human to touch it. The maker of the violin had died some-hundred years ago, long before Kal was born.

"And what if it was a trade?" he challenged Death, picking up the bow.

_A trade? For what? _Death hard at Kal, who knew the raven expected the answer but said it out loud anyways.

"For the owner's life, mon ami. They were more than happy to exchange it." Kal held the violin under his chin and placed the bow to the strings, smirking. "Not one drop of blood was spilt." Death ruffled his feathers to express his annoyance and Kal began to play.

To set the raven off even more, he played a loud song that he knew Death would recognize; the way he played it, he made the music twist and spin hypnotizing. That was its purpose. He'd used the song more than once to lead humans and demons alike to their death: off a cliff, into a fire, or even to him. Kal had always favored this song in particular; the dark, deadly theme suited him.

Luckily for everyone else, the tree they were sitting in was in the middle of the woods, far away from the nearest town.

And closest to the BlackRose Inn.

Kal played on and on, loosing all track of time until Death began to sway woozily. He lifted the bow and grinned at him. "Getting a little dizzy, Death's Flyer?"

_Are you trying to make me ill? _Death inquired, straightening up. _Why do you even play that evil song?_

"Because it's music to my ears," Kal replied, smiling at his joke. "If you have problem with it, go somewhere else."

Excellent _idea. Maybe I'll go and find someone of my own species to spend time with instead of a twisted demon._

"You go do that, and I'll wait here to keep watch for flying pigs." Kal smirked as Death flew off deeper into the forest. They both knew that the ravens and crows tended to avoid Death; it was mostly the company he kept. Being around Kal so much had affected him; he was much older than any other raven, and would probably have the lifespan of an immortal.

After waiting to make sure that Death was no longer in hearing range, Kal begun to play again, this song softer, but even darker. No-one had ever heard it, and no-one ever would. It was music that summarized his life; death, darkness, destruction and cruelty. He played until the music spun around him, drowning out every other noise and thought, leaving only endless notes written in his head.

Hours later, he realized it was getting dark. A stiff, dull ache began to settle in his bones as soon as he realized just how long he'd been sitting there, just playing.

Taking a break, he balanced the violin on his lap and stretched his stiff fingers. It was late; Death was probably looking for a tree to spend the night in.

And everyone in the Inn would be getting ready to turn in for the day.

Grinning devilishly, he put away the violin and lifted the case in his hand, flying off in the direction of the Inn.

* * *

Chris looked over at Allie, who was clearing the last of the dinner plates off of the tables. "After that, you're finished," she told her.

Allie blew an errant stand of blonde hair out of her face. "Thank _God! _I'm dead on my feet here."

"Let me guess," Chris said, "you've never worked a day in your life."

"You guessed right." Allie brought the dishes into the kitchen, where Sarah and Tammy were cleaning them telekinetically, which meant the two of them sitting at the table and directing the dishes with their hands. "My, aren't you working hard," Tammy said sarcastically as she glanced at her. "Clearing tables is exhausting, isn't it? Put them over there."

"You're enjoying this too much," Allie accused her, and put the dishes in the sink. Sarah laughed.

"You'll get used to it," she promised. "This is nothing compared to changing the beds, scrubbing the floors, making the food, clearing out the dead bodies…"

"What?" Allie asked, not sure she'd heard right. Tammy cackled at her shocked expression.

"Don't worry, we don't have people killed in here.." As son as Allie relaxed, Tammy added "If there's an argument, the rules are that they have to kill each other outside. And they have to get rid of the bodies themselves."

"The unusable parts, you mean," Sarah added.

"W-what?"

"The parts of the bodies that aren't good for anything," she explained. Turning a delicate shade of green, Allie asked "A-and what about the usable parts?"

"Didn't you taste the ingredients in the stew?" Tammy asked innocently. Allie rushed out of the room, covering her mouth. She was already emptying the contents of her stomach into the downstairs bathroom while the two demons were laughing hysterically.

Allie rinsed out her mouth and went up to her room, waving at Chris as she passed her, though she didn't notice; she was deep in a book.

_Everybody seems to read around here_, Allie thought to herself. _God, I didn't even know demons _could _read. Half-demons. Whatever._

When she reached her room, she collapsed backwards onto her bed, reveling in the silence. Waiting on demons for a good part of the afternoon wasn't exactly a silent job. Not that she disliked noise, but because some of the guests talked about _extremely_ gruesome things while taking no precautions to lower their voices.

Allie was actually on the verge of drifting off to sleep when the music started.

It sounded like a violin; the music seemed cheerful enough, a jig or something. She found herself having the urge to get up and dance. Puzzled, she left her room and hurried down the stairs to the living room.

"What's going on?" She called into the room. Chris looked up from her book and shrugged.

"No idea, sorry."

Allie rolled he eyes and walked over to the kitchen, only to find it empty. Grumbling to her self, she left the kitchen and went outside.

Tammy, Mina, Sarah, and Michael were standing in a group in front of the Inn, looking up. Allie craned her head up to follow their gaze.

Standing on the roof was Kal, playing a violin and pretending to ignore them.

Allie called up to him and waved. "Hey, Kal! What're you doing here?"

"Just playing." He acted as if he noticed the group fro the first time. "Why all the grim faces? Dance!" Still playing with a skill Allie never in a million years would have suspected, he began to turn in quick, graceful circles around the roof, jumping and grinning. Allie noticed that the smile wasn't exactly cheerful; she wondered if anyone else did.

"Kalendrakk, you will get off of our house right now, or I'll come up there to make you!" Tammy shouted.

"Suit yourself," he replied, and continued to dance and play. Large bat-like wings ripped through Tammy's shirt, but before she could spread them, Michael grabbed her upper arm gently and caught her eye, shaking his head slightly.

Kal noticed and laughed. "What, your little angel not want you to fight? A pity." He jumped up the slope of the roof and began to dance along the edge, hair flying behind him. Allie watched awestruck as everyone else argued among themselves. The way he played was completely unnatural. _How did he learn? He's ..him! He hardly seems the musician type! _Then she remembered the music notes she had found in his bag, before she'd met him. _And the same goes for the dancing! Why's he even _doing _this? It's completely…out of character for Kal!_

They all seemed to reach a decision; looking extremely annoyed, the group went back into the Inn, Tammy slamming the door so hard behind her, Allie thought it would spilt in half.

"Trying to catch flies?" Kal called down to her over his music.

She shook her head.

"Cat got your tongue, then. Or raven." He stopped dancing and stared down at her. "A little shocked, are you?"

"No…yes…a little."

He tossed his hair and smirked at her. "Everyone's that way. Funny, huh?"

Allie frowned. _Okay, I'm lost_. "What's funny?"

"That they automatically think that I can be capable of every sort of torture, can be invincible, can be empty of emotions, and can be a legend, but I can't do a simple thing like play an instrument." He shook his head, grinning. "It's funny, in my twisted mind."


	17. Chapter 17

A/N- yeah, this chapter's a little short…

* * *

"Wake up, Allie!" Paul pounced on her bed, landing on her legs. As she glared daggers at him, he widened his eyes innocently and grinned. "You're up!"

"Now I am," she grumbled. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night; Kal's non-stop playing took care of that, though she was pretty sure he only wanted to annoy the owners of the Inn. And, after she had finally fallen asleep, she'd been woken up by a loud cracking sound, followed by a bang. "And what was all that noise last night?"

"Oh, that was Mina. She threw some firecrackers at Kalendrakk to make him be quiet."

Allie rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Such pleasant, peaceful people here…" Convinced that she was up, Paul jumped off of her bed and ran out the door, waving goodbye. "Nice alarm clock, too."

_God, who throws _firecrackers_ at people? I admit, that was REALLY annoying, especially that late at night, but…_firecrackers? _I feel like I'm in a madhouse!_

She rolled out of bed and washed her face with cold water, then proceeded to dress quickly; it still felt odd to her, wearing pants instead of skirts. After double-checking that her hair was fine, she hurried down the flights of stairs and into the living room. Sarah and Chris sat on the couch, drinking something hot out of mugs and staring blankly at a wall.

"Didn't sleep much?" Allie said sympathetically.

"How could we? And, at one in the morning, Paul decided that he wanted to dance along to the music. Then we had lock him in his room, and then Mina and Tammy found firecrackers in the basement, which the of course had to light up and throw at Kal…." Chris brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

Allie smiled empathetically and ran for the kitchen. As she past the dining room, she noticed a few demons who had gotten up early, along with a human or two. Most startling were two girl demons, covered in black reptilian scales and had similarly cut white hair. As she hurried into the kitchen, their hostile, red eyes followed here unblinkingly.

"Um, who were those two…reptile-people?" she asked as soon as she entered the kitchen. Tammy was stirring a pot of something, and Michael sat at the table eating his breakfast.

"Zira and Rek?" Tammy asked. "They're twin snake demons. Some of the best-paying customers we've had in a while, so don't scare them away."

Allie, thinking of how they were doing the scaring, not her, shook her head regardless. "I won't."

"Good," Tammy said shortly. "Now.."

Allie flinched, expecting the short-tempered demon to start ordering her around, and instead found a bowl of porridge thrust into her hands. "Eat; we can't have you fainting during your lessons." Allie sat down gratefully.

"Merci."

"Well I can't be evil all my life, can I?" she said dryly, rolling her eyes at Michael, who laughed at the inside joke.

_Speaking of evil…_"Is Kal alright? I mean, you did throw firecrackers at him.."

Tammy's semi-good mood vanished; Allie could practically feel the tension crackling around her. "And why would you care, huh? Want to go and tend to his wounds? What are you, his girlfriend?" Michael shot her a look that said "cut it out", and she did, relaxing a bit. "Sorry, sorry," she mumbled.

"Then he _is_ hurt?" Allie herself wondered why she was worrying; with all the bragging Kal did about being so hard to kill, she probably didn't have anything to worry about if he _was_ hurt.

"No, no…though I was hoping that the extra noise would make that messed-up heart of his fail." After another look from Michael, she sighed "He's _fine_."

Allie took a big spoonful of her breakfast. After swallowing, she asked "What's that mean?"

"What?"

"He has a messed-up heart?"

Tammy shrugged. "Literally, his heart is pretty weak; if the scriptures we read were right, he was shot in it a couple of times when he was younger. Figuratively? He doesn't have one."

"So I've heard." Allie said tiredly, and focused on her breakfast. When she finished, she brought the her bowl to the sink, and walked to the door. "How long until my next lesson?"

"Fifteen minutes. And yes, you can do whatever you want until then. Go."

"Thanks!" Allie called over her shoulder as she left. On the way out, into the dining room, she noticed the two snake-demons were still there. _What're their names again? Miza and Beck? _ She shuddered at their cold, flat eyes and quickly left the Inn, stepping outside onto the lawn.

* * *

Kal opened one eye as he heard the Princess approaching, wondering what she was going to complain about now. When she got within speaking distance, he called down to her from his spot on the roof. "Yes?"

"Oh, you're alright." Allie smiled and Kal closed his eye; he didn't want to deal with her cheerful antics this morning.

"Some reason I wouldn't be?" he asked harshly. Through their mental bond, he felt hurt and uncertainty.

"Well…you were up all night playing that violin, and then I heard they threw firecrackers at you-- no, _literally_, they woke me up-- and then they said you had a heart problem, and _then--"_

"You passed out from lack of air and all my problems were solved," he finished, lacing his hands together under his head and crossing his legs. "Oh, nope, my mistake--I was fantasizing. You were saying?"

He heard her let out a growl of frustration and snickered to himself; annoying her was more fun than annoying the others at the Inn! "I was _saying_, _they _were saying that you got shot in your heart when you were little! Why didn't you _tell _me you had a problem with it?"

Kal shrugged nonchalantly. "Everyone exaggerates on that; sure, it's a little uncomfortable, but I'm still alive, ain't I?" _If anyone one else was in the conversation, they'd be sure to respond "unfortunately" to that_. "Don't hurt your little brain worrying over it."

"Why are you always insulting me?"

"Why do you always set yourself up for it?"

"Because I'm _trying _to be nice!"

"Then _don't_ if it's causing you such grief!"

"You're _impossible!"_

"_Somebody's _calling the kettle black."

"If I could come up there--"

"But you can't, since you're a pathetic, little, _weak_ human girl."

"_Son_ of a--!"

"Aaaal-lieee!" Paul ran out onto the lawn and tackled Allie as Kal opened his eyes to watch. "Are you married to Kal?"

"No! Oh God NO! Why would you think that?" She managed to dislodge Paul from her shoulders and pushed him an arm's length away.

"Well, I asked Christopher-" that was his nickname for "Chris", " and she said that you were having a 'lover's quarrel'! And when I asked, 'What's that?' she said 'it's something married people have a lot', so I came out here, and then I saw you, so I said 'Aaaa--'! "

"You and Paul are _perfect _for each other," he called down, interrupting Paul before he could go on much longer. "Both gossips with nothing in your skulls except cotton."

Paul stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes. "Well, you're mean and I don't like you!"

"The feeling is mutual, believe me. Go and choke to death on a cookie or something."

Paul ran back toward the Inn at full speed, yelling "Cookie!" Allie rolled her eyes at Kal and followed him, calling over her shoulder "I'll see you later."

Kal raised an eyebrow then laid back down, closing his eyes. She was going to visit him after? Why?_ In all the seven hells, why? Doesn't she get it that I _like _being alone? _The sun warmed his skin quickly, without his illusion on; grumbling, he stood up and flew into the much shadier and cooler woods. His stomach grumbled when he landed, reminding hi it had been a few weeks since his last meal.

A rabbit scurried by, probably upset by his sudden landing.

In the blink of an eye, he reached down and snatched it, breaking the thing's neck before it even knew what was happening.

* * *

Allie looked sadly at the mirror. "My eyebrows…"

Tammy stood in the background, her hand covering her mouth.

Allie covered her forehead and looked away from the mirror, trying to conceal her now vibrantly-pink eyebrows. "How did _that _happen?"

"You were obviously thinking about something else while you were practicing your illusion. Now, fix them."

Allie rolled her eyes and went back to the mirror. This is cruel; making mirrors my enemies. In a second, though, her eyebrows were back to blonde.

"Good. Now change your eye color."

_Eye color…_That just reminded her of Kal, who had two different color eyes. _The purple one was to mark him as evil, he said. _

_God, he must hate that._ The she remembered the look on his face when he killed those eagle demons. _Then again, maybe not. But how can _anyone_ like being evil?_

And as soon as she started thinking about Kal….Allie sighed as her eyes changed, on black, one pale purple. Quickly, before Tammy could see, she imagined them a vibrant, blinding green. Her teacher nodded her approval, and that's how the lesson went for another hour, changing the color of her skin, hair, and clothes, until Mina came to start her lesson.

"Now," Mina said, after Tammy disappeared. "Your magical strength seems fairly adequate, so let's get started right away. You remember everything I said yesterday?" Allie nodded, and before she could say anything, Mina pressed on. She had dark bags under her eyes, and her curly black hair frizzed around her shoulders and head like a storm cloud, filled with knots and snarls. It gave her an eccentric (if not crazy) look, so Allie kept quite as she talked.

"I'm going to make it very simple for you; imagine your magical energy in front of you, and then bend it into a wall. Simple. Do it."

Flustered, Allie tried to envision it, but she had not idea _what _to envision. After a few tries, and Mina's help, she managed to create an invisible wall around herself. She couldn't see it, but she could _sense_ it. Allie did these exercises repeatedly, for an hour, until Mina let her go, transporting her back upstairs.

"Remember, midnight tomorrow, you'd better have a sufficient shield around yourself. Or else."

"But I'll be asleep!"

"So? Cast it before you go to sleep! And this is counting as an exam--you fail, and yo get an extra month of this. Understood?"

Allie fought the instinct to roll her eyes and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Now, I'm going to get a coffee. You can have a little break, then you're to report to the kitchens. Tammy will give you something to do." Mina disappeared, leaving Allie alone in the hallway to her room.

"Why me?" Allie sighed to herself, and walked into her room. Just as she was going to change her shirt (a backfire during her lesson had scorched it a little), she heard Kal say "Depressed, are we?"

"Oh God! You just gave me a heart attack!" Doing a double take at the demon sitting on her bed, she paled. "Oh _God_," she repeated, looking at his bloodstained shirt and hands. "What did you _do?"_

He raised an eyebrow. "Ate lunch."

"And what was that?" Allie asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"A rabbit, why?"

"A…you ate…_a little bunny?"_ Allie covered her mouth.

"What was I suppose to do, go steal food off of some human and make trouble? It's what I usually eat! That, and squirrels--"

"_How can you do that?" _Allie cried. "The little fuzzy babies! Oh, that's _mean_!"

Kal raised his eyebrow again. "The babies don't have enough meat on them for my tastes, so I stick to the adults. God, you're emotional! Do you even _know_ half the things that go into the food you eat?"

Allie covered her mouth again. "Excuse me, I think I'm going to be sick."

As she rushed out of the room, she heard him laugh. "I guess not."


	18. Chapter 18

A/N- Alright, as much as it would be an extremely amusing twist in the plot, there will be NO Kal/Allie pairings. Granted, they'll eventually become close friends, but nothing romantic. And Paul is actually a real person, a friend of mine. And yes, he really acts like that in real life.

* * *

"Paul," Mina whispered into his ear. "Guess what Allie's gonna have at one in the morning tonight?"

"What?" He asked, practically twitching from all the sugar he'd had.

"Cake," she said. Paul's eyes widened

"Yay!"

"Shh!" Mina clamped a hand over his mouth. "But Allie doesn't want to share the cake. She's going to eat it all by herself."

Paul made big, sad, puppy eyes. "None for me?"

"Not unless you sneak into her room at one in the morning and get some." Mina's eyes sparkled evilly as she let Paul go to run around in circles. "I'm gonna get the cake!"

"Good for you, Paul. Now go help Tammy fix supper, 'kay?"

"'Kay!" Paul ran down to the kitchen to help.

_Ah, the joys of having a hyperactive demon in the house_, Mina thought as she leaned back in bed and sipped her coffee.

* * *

Kal opened one eye lazily as he heard Death approaching, then shut it. He was leaning back on a long, thick tree limb, his hands crossed behind his head. The fading light made it comfortable for him to be this high up in the tree.

"So," he said, sensing the raven's anxiety. "I smell a storm coming."

_Um, yes. So there is._

"It'll be nice to have a good thunderstorm, eh?"

_Yes…_

"One can only deal with all this sunny weather for so long…"

_Alright, alright! _Death broke down, as Kal knew he would. He smelled the scent of Eagle demons on Death as soon as he'd landed-- he just liked playing with the bird's mind. _I went to see if Jessica had any new plans involving us! And why am I acting like I did something wrong? I may do whatever I want!_

Kal gave him a half-smile and sat up, stretching his shoulder muscles. "And?"

Death sighed. _Nothing new as of yet. The same track-down-and-kill tactics as before. A few more interesting weapons, but other than that, nothing. _He cocked his head. _Who would've thought they'd come up with so many lethal ways to use Alison's magical strength?_

Kal raised an eyebrow. "Any guesses as to how long they've been sapping her powers?"

_Not long after you came to Europe, I'd say. She still has remarkable strength though, doesn't she?_

He shrugged. "I guess."

_A year or so without them draining them every month or so, and she would be at her full power. Though, I'm not sure that's a good thing…_

"What? The strain of having to control it?"

_Yes, that. Similar to what happens to you each year._ Kal narrowed his eyes dangerously, and Death quickly steered the conversation away from that particular subject. _But, since you are now her protector…you'll help her with it, right?_

"We'll see."

Death tilted his head to one side in a way that meant he was amused. _Well, bless the heavens…_

"What're you thinking about now, you persistent old crow?" Death was far enough away to ensure that Kal couldn't read his thoughts.

_I don't think I've ever heard a "We'll see" from you concerning another's well-being. You're growing soft, aren't you?_

"Shut your beak or loose it," Kal said flatly. Death sighed.

_And just when I thought I was off the hook…._

"Go bother some crippled old man for bread, you crow," Kal told him, but not too unkindly.

_I'll save some for you, _pigeonDeath threw back at him, and flew off, most certainly looking for a spot to roost, away from Kal. The raven wasn't stupid; he could sense when Kal preferred to be left alone.

_If only that damned Princess had enough sense to do that_, he thought. _Heh. Like hell I'm getting soft._ He took down his violin from where it hung on a branch, more than ready to relax his mind with the music.

* * *

Allie found herself in an extremely odd dream; in it, she was watching herself sleep. _Well, this is certainly boring! _

Around her was the invisible half orb of her protection shield-- she could only sense it was there, and, as Mina had explained, magic users could see their own spells, even if they did happen to be invisible.

A moment later, Paul crept into the room, eyeing Allie sneakily. As she watched, he pounced, only to be driven backward by the shield. "Ow.." Shaking his hair out of his face, he searched her room, looking under the bed and in the corners. Looking set-back, he left the room and shit the door behind him.

_Weird, _Allie thought, then she fell back into pleasant darkness.

* * *

"Juuu-liieee…" Paul whispered, his face inches away from hers. "Where's the cake?"

Without even waking up, she took a cane from under her pillow and used it to push him away. Then she turned over and went back to sleep.

Pouting, Paul left Julie's room and went into Sarah's. She was sleeping with her head under her pillow and her legs dangling over the edge, nearly falling off, as she usually did. Paul poked her forearm. "You know where the cake is?"

"Neehh…" she grumbled. And then shifted her position, actually falling off the bed. Sarah, who slept like the dead, only responded by covering her head with the pillow and curling up into a ball.

"Boo."

Paul continued on with this way with Chris's room, here he caught a fluent stream of English swearwords. In Michael's room, he got the angel to wake up, but when asked the single-word question of "Cake?" he yawned and said, with the Yankee accent that had never left him, "I think I'll take a nap…" and fell back asleep.

In Tammy's room, he was answered by a hard whack upside the head; the irritable demon didn't even wake up from her deep sleep (when she did sleep, it was impossible to wake her up--many had tried, and failed in the attempt).

Now considerably more sore (and craving more sugar) than when he had started out, he went to the source: Mina's room.

As usual, she slept stretched out on the left side of the bed, ignoring the rest of the space. A broad slip of black silk was tied around her eyes. Any bit of light made it hell for her to go to sleep, hence the blindfold.

"Oooh, Miiiiii-naaa…where's the cake?"

"Wi' the dead 'possum in the fireplace," she mumbled. "Now go eat those choc'late eyeballs and go back ta sleep."

Paul rolled his eyes and slunk out of the room. _Why is it I always get those weird answers from her when I ask her something when she's asleep? _he mused. _Obviously, there's not a dead opossum in the fireplace!_ Shaking his head at the absurdity of it all, he went downstairs to the fireplace to take a look at the decaying raccoon that had fallen in some time before.

* * *

Kal opened his eyes from the semi-conscious state he usually substituted for sleeping. He was first conscious that his right leg, arm, and heart had that dull, throbbing ache that meant it was about to rain. Next, he realized he still held his violin. Remembering what he'd done last night, he craned his neck to look down at the base of the tree. There, sleeping on the damp grass, were the two identical snake demon twins, Zira and Rek. _Heh heh. Guess all that dancing around they did last night tired them out._ Stretching his cramped muscles, he put his violin in its case and un-sheathed his wings from his back. _Time to pay a visit to the Princess._

Within minutes, he was hovering outside her window, not an easy thing to do, even for himself. He opened it and flew in, landing quietly. He leaned over Allie, who was still sleeping (and snoring) and whispered in her ear. "I'm keeping my violin here so it won't get wet. Don't touch it." Kal could feel the unpleasant feel of her magic; for some reason, she had a protective field of it around her. Nonetheless, she nodded in her sleep and mumbled what might've been a "yes". Kal shrugged the lingering bits of magic that clung to him like mist off and slid the instrument under the bed. Even it she did wasn't to look at it, the thing would be much to heavy for a human to pull put, let alone a weak girl like herself.

Humans. _Can't imagine how they manage being so weak and vulnerable all the time. It's a wonder they don't drop dead like gnats, or flies, or some other manner of worthless pests! Or perhaps it just seems they don't, because of the rate at which they breed…what a weird species!_

Tucking his bangs behind his ears, he flew off before Paul or someone came to wake her up. He glanced over his shoulder at the snoring, defenseless princess before flying off.

_Almost hard to imagine that naïve girl's fate is to destroy me._

* * *

Allie's lessons seem to fly by; it might've just been her imagination, but she almost could've sworn that she was getting stronger--magically, that is. Her stomach was still embarrassingly weak when the subject of something morbidly disgusting (to her) came up. Soon, her two-hour lessons were over and she was sent upstairs to the dining area to help with waiting on tables.

A rather unkempt pair of snake demons were off near the kitchen, arguing with Tammy.

"It's not our fault if you two were weak enough to be hypnotized by simple music!" Tammy growled, barely making an effort to keep her voice low.

"You shouldn't allow that abomination on your property in the first place!" one hissed.

"You think its our choice?" Tammy snapped. "Well, then, Zira, feel free to go ahead and try to kick him off it! Go on, I _dare_ you! _Mien gott_, you're thick! When you two _ist tot--_are _dead--_let's see if I'll be complaining!" An accent thickened her speech--Allie couldn't place it. German? She _did _have a sneaking suspicion that she knew the "him" they were discussing, though.

_Just ignore it and move along_, she told herself, and went to a table where a human-looking person was sitting. "Can I help you?" she asked. She immediately regretted the phrasing of her question when the guy in question scanned her body. _Great, the one human here, and he's a total pervert. _Restraining the urge to slap him, she tapped her foot impatiently.

"Just a coffee, thanks."

Allie nodded tightly and went to the kitchens to get it, pushing past Tammy and the snake demons. Holding it so the hot drink wouldn't scald her hands, she edged her way past them again. She was only a few feet away when she heard what she recognized as the sound of someone being hit. _Hard_. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw one of the two holding her flat nose, blackish blood flowing out of it.

"Then get out if you have such strong opinions about it, _du kleine Hexe!__Nien_, both of you can leave! _Hinab!_ _Geht_! Now! Before I decide to _really_ hurt you!"

Allie grimaced and hurried the coffee over to the guy, trying to act ignorant (though, pretty much the entire room heard her, unless there were some deaf occupants).

Tammy slammed the kitchen door, grumbling to herself angrily.

"What was that all about?" Allie asked when she was back in the kitchen to get somebody's lunch.

"_That_? Oh, why don't you ask your good friend Kal what _that_ was about. I'm sure he knows exactly what _that _is!" Tammy dumped the required lunch on the plate without Allie asking. "_That _is him being bad for the business, _that_'s what! _That_ is him getting me more short-tempered than usual and therefore disrupting my day! _That_ is him hypnotizing our two best-paying customers and making them dance in circles all night, _that_'s what!" She viciously shoved the plate into Allie's hands. "So why don't you finish up your rounds and then go make out with that bastard you're so fond of, huh?"

Allie, too surprised to come up with an argument to defend herself (though she probably would come up with a great one in the middle of the night then abruptly forget it), hurried out of the kitchen.

* * *

Allie opened the door to her room, ready to just collapse on the bed and stretch out. Unfortuantely, it was already occupied.

"Kal, what're you doing here?" she sighed. The demon was surrounded by an aura of black light. Mixed in with the black was barely-visible purple, the color of a bruise.

"Relaxing, making myself comfortable. Why, that a problem?" In the blink of an eye, the aura disappeared, making Allie wonder if she'd really seen it in the first place.

"Sort of."

"Well, forgive me, your Highness," he said, sarcasm dripping from his scratchy voice. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat there. "Tired, are we?"

"A bit. And Tammy's in a horrible mood." she sat at the head of the bed, a good three feet away from Kal.

He laughed shortly. "_That's_ nothing new, I'm sure."

Allie tilted her head, confused. "Did you know her?"

"I know about her. Born somewhere in Austria, went to Transylvannia for a decade or so. A real short-tempered bi--"

"Apparently," Allie interrupted, "you're the reason for her mood being so rotten today." She glared at him. "What'd you do to those snake girls?"

Kal raised his eyebrows. "Me, do something?" He shrugged. "All I was doing was minding my own business--it wasn't _my_ descision that they come so close to where I was playing. They got caught up in the sound of a demon-made instrument--that's no fault of mine." Kal's face then split into a grin. "Or perhaps I heard them coming to me with bad intentions and decided to have a little fun with them. Is that so wrong?"

Allie shook her head, a piece of blonde hair escaping her ponytail and falling into her face. "I guess not…you don't have to be so cruel all the time, though. couldn't you just soften up and give everyone a break?"

Kal hid his surprise behind what he guessed would be a look of indifference. "Why should I, Princess? They're the ones trying to kill me, not…well, I guess I can't say 'not the other way around', huh?"

"God, you're hopless," she said, not unkindly, shaking her head again.

"Same with you." He raised an eyeborw ad gave a half-grin. "By the way, you _do_ know what was in your lunch, right?" He moved out of the way as she aimed a back-handed slap at him.

"Hey! Not now, please."

"As her Highness commands." The door slammed open at that moment, and Pual bounded it.

"Hi Allie! How are you? How were your lessons, good? Good! Guess what, I just found where Tammy ahs been hiding the coffee, and it's really good! It makes me happy." He stopped for breath and stuck his tongue out at Kal. "And I _still _don't like you, meanie! Oh, Allie, is there any cake left over from last night?"


	19. Interlude

A/N- Alright, what I said in the last review….scratch it. I MIGHT do some pairing with Kal and Allie…I'll just need to figure out HOW. All suggestions are welcome, 'cause I may be suffering from writer's block. Nasty, nasty writer's block…Anywho, give me your opinions, because they rock. And yay for all the reviews! (bows down).

The chapter's a little short…alright, really short, but I promise to have the next one out sooner.

* * *

**Interlude**

(I know, the suspense, eh?)

Elizabeth stretched the cramped muscles in her neck, blinking hard. "We just lost track of time, didn't we?"

Gabriel nodded. "I believe we did." He looked back down at the book. "They weren't what they seemed at first sight, were they?"

Elizabeth nudged him in the ribs, smiling pointedly up at him. "No-one is."

"I know, I know. How many times a day must I endure that look?"

"What look?" she said innocently.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "The look that says 'I'm always right.'"

"Aren't I?" Elizabeth joked. Gabriel kissed her on the forehead and then poked her in one of her pressure points at the base of her neck, getting a giggle out of her.

"You keep on telling yourself that, ange, and I will keep agreeing. 'Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn', no?"

"So true." She leaned against him and sighed. "Seems like that's true for that Jessica woman. I wonder if she's still after Kal?"

"Some people can be relentless in their grudges," Gabriel pointed out, remembering Lord Jason all to well. "I suppose we won't know until we finish the story, though."

"Yes."

They sat in silence for a minute, until Rose trotted into the library, her tail held high. Without hesitation, she leapt onto the couch, and then onto Gabriel's shoulder. He smiled fondly at the cat, but gently pushed her off. "You are getting a little too big for that, don't you think, Rose?"

She meowed and hopped back onto his shoulder.

"Sometimes, I swear that cat can understand you," Elizabeth laughed, petting the orange tabby.

"Are you saying she actually doesn't?" he exclaimed with mock horror. Then, to Rose, "Don't listen to her, dear, she did not mean it." Rose purred and rubbed her head against Gabriel's.

"Shouldn't you two get a room?"

Rose, just then, had decided to pull Gabriel's hair out of the ponytail he had fastened it into, to keep it out of his face while he played his music. "Ow! Rose, that hurts."

Elizabeth giggled and untangled Rose's paws from his hair. "I think she's giving her opinion on your new hairstyle."

Gabriel rolled his eyes theatrically and untied the cord, dangling it in the air for her to play with. "I suppose she doesn't have a liking toward any change in mw wardrobe. I guess every time I decide to wear my hair or clothes in a different fashion, I'll have to run it past her."

"You almost never to that," Elizabeth giggled, knowing his wardrobe consisted mostly of plain, black shirts, breeches, and coats.

"How true." Gabriel stroked Rose's head as she chewed on the cord; she had successfully ripped it out of his hands. "Alright, _ma petite, _I won't change anything without your consent." Rose licked his hand briefly before returning to murdering the poor, helpless cord (which was completely innocent and undeserving of such abuse).

Elizabeth couldn't help but wonder if that meant his form as well. _I don't care what he looks like…I love him regardless. But what if he wants to become human? We haven't heard from Jason in months…is that good or bad? There's so many loose ends that need to be tied up…and his curse…_After reading about how Kal was cursed, Gabriel had kept coming back to mind. He had never told her how to break his…the closest they had gotten on that subject was him telling her that it was impossible to break. And then Jason had sealed the curse permanently…I wonder if there still might be a way to break it. "Gabriel.."

"Oui?"

"You've never said how to break your curse. I mean, I remember you said you didn't want to talk about it, but…"

Gabriel smiled down at her. "You are curious."

"Well, naturally. We're going to be married soon, after all."

"And you wish that we have no more secrets?"

Elizabeth shrugged helplessly.

He laughed softly and draped his arm around her shoulders. "You act as if I am going to bite! It's alright; it doesn't bother me." He waited a beat, then said "Fourteen years ago, now, after Jason cursed me…he said that if I could get another to love me, despite how I appeared, my curse would be broken." He waited to see Elizabeth's reaction.

Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. "That was _it_? _That_ was the 'impossible' way to break your curse?"

He smiled and shrugged helplessly. "It seemed impossible at the time. And after the curse was sealed…I saw no harm in keeping it to myself."

She blinked, and then reached up and messed up his hair. "God, you're dense!"

"I know, mon ange. I know." Gabriel leaned down until his head was resting at the base of Elizabeth's neck, and sighed. "I suppose if I had been a little less…shy, I may be human right now."

"Hey." Elizabeth hugged him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "You know I love you the way you are. How many times must I say that you look positively adorable with all that fur?"

Gabriel shrugged, pretending to contemplate this. "I haven't tired of it yet; it is extremely rare that I get compliments."

"Alright then…Fluffy."

"How many times must I ask you not to refer to me by that infuriating nickname?" Gabriel cried in mock outrage. He straightened up and began tickling Elizabeth, taking care not to accidentally gouge her with his claws. "You will take that back!"

"N-never!" She gasped between her giggles. "_Fluffy_!"

They went on like this for a few minutes, until both of them were breathless. They didn't hear the two fey come in, at first, until Fraya cleared her throat.

"Are we, um, interrupting something?"

Gabriel sat back, catching his breath. Elizabeth brushed her hair back behind her ears and shook her head.

"N-no…what is..it?" she gasped, winded.

"We were about to say," Ella said, "That it was time for supper, but if you two are busy…"

"What? No! We were just reading. And then we got into a dispute about Gabriel's nickname again--"

"What? Fluffy?" Ella interrupted, and Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"Precisely. Mon ange, I think you should go down to supper." They had gotten into the habit of eating supper in the ballroom, where they had had their first dance (well, Elizabeth ate, and Gabriel sat and talked).

"Excellent idea. I'm starving."

He stood up as the faeries disappeared and offered her a hand. "As always. I'm still wondering how you can eat enough for myself as well as you, and still look so angelic."

She took his hand and pulled herself up. "It is a mystery that many wonder about." She looked back down at the Raven in the Fog, laying open at Chapter Eighteen on the couch. "I suppose we'll have to continue it tomorrow."

"First thing in the morning, ange."

Elizabeth wrapped her arm around his waist as they walked out of the library; his arm was around her shoulders. "I love that you're a bookworm like me."

"And I love that you love me."


	20. Chapter 19

A/N- Kitti! AWESOME idea! Flipping awesome! (worships).

Dark Ninja- who ever said that Jason _died_? (shifty glance)

mouse- well, there _will_ be. I'm gonna write the sequel to L'ange et Le Monstre after I finish this story.

krazykutie- now I think I'm crazy…I didn't even realize I was hinting at that. (shock) I need stronger coffee…

* * *

The rest of the month passed quickly enough; as the difficulty of her lessons increased, especially her weapon-training, she barely kept count of the days. Finally, on the last day of the month, she came downstairs for what was to be her last morning, only to find the dining room decorated festively, and a large, colorful banner with the words "Goodbye, Allie!" shimmering and changing colors as she watched. Three of the round tables were pressed together, with a huge breakfast laid out on them. Everyone looked up as she came through the door.

"Surprise!" Paul yelled. "Wait, you are surprised, right?"

"Yes! This is beautiful!" Allie sat down at the spare seat left open. "But where are all the customers?"

Mina laughed. "Ask Tammy."

Tammy shrugged innocently. "Perhaps their doors are stuck."

Allie laughed along with everyone else. "Thanks, you guys. Really."

Sarah smiled. "We'll miss you. It's not often Mina, Tammy, and Julie get to boss people around so much!"

Allie rolled her eyes good-naturedly and began heaping food onto her plate. Paul reached for the coffee pot, only to have it disappear into thin air, re-appearing into Mina's hands.

"_No_, Paul."

"Aww…..meanie."

Allie giggled; she was really going to miss Paul's child-like nature. _Kal, _she thought, talking to him telepathically, through their link as she had learned to. _I think I'll be staying a bit later than I first said…do you mind?_

_**-whatever-**_

_So cheery and bright, aren't we?_

_**-whatever-**_

_Fine, fine, be that way. Oh, and my bags are on my bed in my room._

_**-so now I'm elevated to a servant?-**_

_C'mon, be a little more cheerful! I'll promise I'll be done by noon, alright?_

_**-whatever-**_

* * *

Allie didn't end up tearing herself away from what had morphed into a noisy, falling-down-drunk party until three, three hours later than she'd said. Kal was sitting with his eyes closed at the base of a nearby tree, her bags next to him. As she approached, he stood up. "Have fun?"

"Well, yes, I did."" She picked up her bags and held them to her chest. "And, before you say anything, no, I did not drink anything."

"Wasn't going to ask, Princess. Come on, we have to go."

"Go where, exactly?"

Kal shrugged and picked her up. "Somewhere. Away." He gave her his shirt to hold and then unsheathed his wings. She made a disgusted face, but tucked it into the pockets of one of her bags.

"I thought the whole reason you wrecked the shirt with those holes was so that you could fly with it on," she grumbled.

"Too hot outside for a shirt." He took off, flying until he was just below the clouds.

"Well, I'm wearing all black, but you don't see me taking my shirt off, do you?" She gestured to her clothes: she still wore the black uniform of the Inn.

Kal shrugged. _Humans and their obsessions with propriety._ "I'm not as accustomed to warm temperatures as you are," he said, looking over his shoulder at Death, who had joined them.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Never mind. Drop it."

_It's because he spent most of his life in the mountains,_ Death spoke up in a matter-of-fact way. _It snowed nearly all of the time there, even during the summer._

Kal growled at the raven. "What part of drop it don't you understand?"

_You were addressing Alison, I believe._

"I was 'addressing' any idiot that happened to be listening!"

_Kal is very sensitive about anyone discussing his past. Or him in general, really,_ Death told Allie. She looked up at Kal.

"Really? Why? You told me all that stuff about your childhood…well, the vague details."

_Oh, did he now?_

"Yes, it was the day after he got into that fight…with the Eagle demons, remember?"

Kal had clenched his jaw and was looking as if he'd very dearly like to break something…preferably the "something" that was flying next to him, or the "something" with blonde hair that was in his arms. "Shut up, _both_ of you."

_A little touchy, are we?_

"Yeah, why are you so grumpy all of the time?"

_Perhaps it was something he ate…_

"Urgh, don't get me _started _on those poor little bunnies and squirrels!"

_His diet is rather appalling, isn't it?_

"I know! And his _hair_…when was the last time he combed it?"

_Well--_

"_Enough!_" Kal shouted, interrupting Death. "Both of you shut your mouths before I rip out your throats!"

Awkward silence ensued.

Then:

"God, why does he always have threaten us?"

_I believe violence is an addiction for him._

Kal gritted his teeth and resigned himself to swearing under his breath in the Raven demon tongue, trying to block out the annoying chatter of the two with no success.

* * *

It was almost a relief to him when a winged demon dressed completely in dark purple flew up next to them. It was almost a relief due to the fact that he couldn't actually feel that emotion too well, but it would have been if he could. Hence: almost.

"Kalendrakk, I have orders to order you to land immediately."

"Go kill yourself," he muttered.

"Since you are not one of my superiors, I am not obligated to do what you order me too." The demon appeared to be a teenaged male, with thick, short white hair falling into his eyes and a pair of spectacles that made his eyes seem comically huge.

"Who's he?" Allie asked in a whisper.

_The equivalent of a human police officer,_ Death told her. _Judging from the shade of his uniform, he's relatively new to the force._

"Demons have police?"

"Actually, we're DLEs--demonic law enforcers," the demon said in an offended manner.

"So, basically demon-police?"

Kal interrupted them. Sure, he was almost grateful ("almost" for the same reason as the aforementioned "almost a relief"), but the conversation was quickly heading to the pointless argument/discussion area.

He hated that area.

And not almost hated, because he could feel hate quite well and with a passion, hence--

Going back to the present, Kal interrupted them. "Shouldn't be heading back to your superiors to suck up to them?"

The demon flushed. "I remain standing with my first--wait…" he thought a moment, "no, second statement. Since you are not one of my superiors, I am not obligated--"

"Wait, why are you here?" Allie questioned the flustered demon, confused.

"As stated in the Demon Law Handbook, Law #12345, 'Kalendrakk may not purchase nor carry a man-or-demon made weapon at any year, month, day, minute, second, etc.' And Kalendrakk has recently purchased an assorted amount of weapons at human weapon-store, therefore--"

" 'Recently' was a month ago," Allie pointed out dryly.

The demon flushed again. "W-we…we at the central headquarters of the DLE are very busy!"

"Oh? Doing what?" Allie asked, genuinely interested.

The demon mumbled something she didn't hear.

"Pardon?" she said.

"We…we have quite a lot of paper work to sort through," he mumbled, embarrassed. "and files to organize…and a great deal of our funding is spent on a rather alarming amount of coffee.."

Allie, at this point, was using all her willpower not to burst out laughing. "I'm sure it's not that bad, Monsieur…"

"Bob."

Allie raised an eyebrow at Kal, who shrugged disinterestedly and flew on, keeping his eyes on the clouds in front of him.

"That's what everyone calls me, anyways. It's short for the rest of my name."

"Robert?" Allie and Death guessed at the same time.

"No… it's Roberta Bobette Robertson."

Allie couldn't stop herself; she busted into giggles. Death cackled in his way of laughing, and Kal hid a smile.

"Everyone laughs at me!" Bob said tearfully. "Just because my name's not as manly as everyone else's….it's not my fault my parents and the doctor thought I was a girl! I can't help it!"

"I-It could be worse," Allie stammered, trying to stop giggling.

"Oh? How?" Bob cried. "Is having everyone call you 'Mlle. Bob' not _worse_?" Bob's thick-framed glasses began to fog up. He took them off and wiped them on his uniform shirt. "And since I'm new, they always find ways to intimidate me! T-they make me get their coffee, a-and do their paperwork…a-and…the w-worst p-part is…"

Allie and Death waited eagerly in silence.

"They always eat my cookies!" he sobbed. "M-my second-cousin t-twice r-rmoved on my mother's side makes them for me…a-and t-they always _s-s-steal _them!"

The situation was becoming increasingly annoying for Kal and increasingly interesting for Allie and Death.

"Oh, don't cry!" Allie said to the crying demon. She reached over Kal's arms, but since her arms were rather short and Kal's wingspan was rather long, she couldn't touch Bob. "There, there."

"Th-they always m-make me c-cry!"

"Awwww….poor demon," Allie breathed, with an expression that would have been more suited on one who was looking at a litter of kittens.

"I--I th-think I'm going to go h-home now…and t-take a l-long nap t-to avoid the c-cruelties of the…c-ruel world." Bob and his angst dipped his wings and disappeared through a cloud.

* * *

**The Next Day**

**At The Headquarters Of The DLE**

"Well, underling? Did you reposses the weapons?"

Bob flinched under the sharp, emotionless glare of the head of his department. "N-no, monsieur."

The head looked calculating me at him, pure evil and malice glinting in his eyes. "I think I prefer…your Lordship."

"No, your Lordship."

"A reason why not, underling?"

Bod redirected his gaze to the floor: anything to avoid those heartless, cruel orbs that reflected pure…well, evil. "I…"

"You had another emotional breakdown, didn't you?"

"Y-yes, your Lordship."

"I see…." He triled off, letting Bob squirnm uncomfortably. After five minutes, he deemed the awkward silence of the appropriate length. "Very well, very well, underling. This will be underlooked…for the one-hunder and twenty-third time."

"Merci, your Lordship!" Bob bowed in half, his spectacles faliing onto the floor. He quickly replaced them onto his face.

"Now….go get me my coffee….and a carrot, if you please."

"Y-yes, your Lordship!"

Bob scurried off, leaving the terrifying, pink-and-lime-green fluffy rabbit to cackle evilly to himself.

* * *

heh heh...random chapter, no? 


	21. Chapter 20

Kal landed not too far away in a small town. Allie leaned over his arms to stare at the ground as he dropped lower. "What's that?"

Kal look disinterestedly at what she was pointing at. "Looks like a caravan. Gypsies."

"Oh. Interesting…"

Kal didn't look very interested. "Just a bunch of humans."

"Sorry t be the one to tell you this, but pretty much everyone on Earth is human." She slid out of his arms and opened her bag, putting her boot-dagger in her boot and belting her sword around her shoulder. She held out the other to Kal. "I don't think I'll need _all_ of my weapons. You want this one?"

"Princess, I'm a walking, breathing weapon. I don't need a puny _human-made _sword," he said contemptuously.

"Fine, _be_ rude." She dropped the remaining sword back into the bag and closed it, then offered that and her clothes to Kal. "I want to go look around town, 'kay?"

"And what am I, your slave?" Kal crossed his arms over his chest, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "Spoiled girl."

Allie rolled her eyes and ignored him. "Well, at least Death's not so impolite as to make a lady carry around heavy luggage all day…are you, Death?"

The raven ruffled his feathers, perched on Kal's shoulders. _Most certainly not, Alison. If I were a demon, I would definitely help you carry your bags.  
_

Kal shot Death a venomous look. "Kiiyen-drose-t're."

"What's that mean?" she asked as Death winced.

_You don't want to know, Alison. And now, I believe I will disappear for a while. Hastily. Now._ He jumped off of Kal's shoulder and flew off, becoming a black spot in the sky.

"What _does_ it mean?" Allie repeated.

"Nothing for your sensitive ears, I'm sure," Kal mumbled. "Go. Wander around town, meet up with a flock of humans, act like an idiot, get drunk, I don't care." He placed his human-like illusion over himself and limped off. As he passed her bags, he picked them up. "I'll go find you a room in an inn."

"Oh…thanks!" Allie watched, surprised that he took her things, but a happy as well. _It's like he's actually trying to be nice! Well…after all the cursing…and death-threats…hm, maybe cursing and death-threats is how he acts nice…this thinking is making my head hurt._

"Bonjour, Mademoiselle." A brightly dressed young man, looking a bit older than her age, walked up to her. He wore odd, brightly-colored clothing: a sleeveless red top under a red-and-yellow shawl-like garment, yellow pants, and soft leather boots. A scarf edged with miniature bells was wrapped around his head. His skin was dusky-brown, a bit darker than hers, and he had auburn hair that fell just past his shoulders, and very clear grey eyes. They seemed to be smiling.

"Bonjour."

He smiled, flashing straight white teeth. "Traveler, are you? I haven't seen you here before."

"Well…yes, I guess you could say that." She held out her hand. "I'm Allie," she said, not giving her last name.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mlle. Allie. I'm Robin." He shook it, and she noticed a shiny, ugly scar, in the shape of a cross, on the back of his left hand, and couldn't help wincing. Robin noticed, and took his hand back.

"Never anger the church, Mademoiselle."

"It looks painful."

He shrugged lightly. "Happened ages ago. No worries, I'm careful to stay far away from churches now." He laughed, and Allie felt hypnotized by it. He looked like the perfect type of person: attractive, polite, a good sense of humor…_the exact opposite to Kal, in fact_, she thought.

"If you don't mind my asking, Mademoiselle--"

"Allie's just fine."

"Of course, Allie. I couldn't help but notice you have a few weapons about your person. Are you by yourself?"

"No…my, erm, friend went to rent out a room. At an inn." _Just after we left one, too. God, I wish I could sleep in a bed that was actually my own!_

"Oh, perhaps I've seen him. He's the tall fellow with the long hair and the limp, _non_?"

"How…how did you--"

"I have an eye for detail," he explained. "I notice little, insignificant things, that usually others people look over." He motioned to her right boot with an airy waved of his scarred hand. "Your boot knife, for instance. Not overly expensive, but of fine make, nonetheless, with a plain, black metal hilt and a polished blade, most likely stainless steel." He shrugged a shoulder apologetically. "Forgive me if I'm disturbing you."

"N-no! That's amazing!" Allie grinned broadly at Robin. "Really, really amazing!"

He returned the smile and tilted his head, the bells making tiny jingling sounds. "Would you like a tour around town, Allie? I've only just arrived the day before yesterday, but I know my way around."

That was an understatement: Allie quickly figured out that Robin knew the small town like the back of his hand (she repressed a shudder at the mental image of the cross), and showed her at what places she could eat, shortcuts through the alleyways, and other useful things. After a while, they reached the outskirts, where a large circle of wagons stood in a field.

"And that would be my family," he said proudly, sweeping his arm in a broad arc. "Not by blood, of course, but you get the meaning."

"Yeah. You're a gypsy?"

"But of course," he said, stooping into a half-bow and thankfully sparing her of any sarcasm.

"That's…that sounds like fun."

Robin gave her a smile that she thought might be either bittersweet or cynical. "It's a glass half-full, one might say. As a traveler, you might understand--well, perhaps not--but it's different at every town and village: sometimes we get our coin, and sometimes, we get a colder welcome than would be preferable, but there's always something different." His eyes took on a dreamy, half-conscious look. "There's thousands of places I've seen, and more I have yet to see." He snapped out of it and smiled. "Anyways, a glass half-full. Or half-empty, if you're on the pessimistic side."

_That's Kal alright, except he'd see his "glass" as three-quarters empty…but then, I guess that a quarter full doesn't sound much better._ "It sounds like a pretty decent lifestyle."

"You flatter me, Allie." Again, he bowed, obviously joking with her.

"What do you do? In the caravan, I mean."

"Do you mean performing?"

"Yes, that. Performing."

"I throw knives. At a board. Lovely, isn't it? But I'm pretty good at it. Been training since I was five, actually." Almost out of nowhere, a small knife the length of Allie's hand appeared in his palm. He held it by the hilt and threw it at a thin sapling.

"Oh!" The blade struck the tree blade in, perfectly straight. "Only _pretty_ good?"

Robin grinned and retrieved the knife. "I haven't quite gotten the hang of it blindfolded and facing the opposite direction, yet."

* * *

"A room for a month," Kal told the desk clerk, not bothering to add a "please." He didn't have much of an idea as to how long they'd be staying, but better to rent a room for longer than shorter.

"We only have a small room available at this time." The clerk, a balding, round-faced man, was trying not to stare at Kal's eyes.

"That's fine. How much?"

"For a month? A thousand francs."

Kal shifted Allie's bags to one hand and dug around in his pockets until he removed the right amount of money. He'd taken it off of a wealthy-looking man one night whilst Allie was at the BlackRose Inn. "Here."

"Merci, Monsieur…?" He trailed off politely and waited for Kal to offer his name.

"Just write it down under Anna Deroi," he said, using the name he'd told Allie to use a while ago.

He didn't question about it, and handed him a small steel key. "Top floor, that's the third, and the first on your left."

Kal took the key and nodded. Then, over his shoulder, he called "Stare at my eyes like that again, and I'll gauge yours out, bastard," in a polite, conversational tone. Before the poor, shocked man could respond, Kal was already limping up the stairs.

_Third floor, first on the left._ Kal unlocked it and stepped in.

It was a little small, but not enough to make someone claustrophobic. He'd seen much smaller rooms--well, cells, actually, if you were being technical. He tossed her bags on the bed and saw a pen and inkwell sitting on the desk, along with some parchment. Kal scribbled a note that the room was good for a month, and he was leaving for a while a day or so, and there was some money in her weapons bag. Only after he did this did he realize that it was in the language of Raven demons and written in runes. He could only spell and read one word in French and that was his name, Kalendrakk ( he wasn't a stranger to wanted posters here and there). Other than that, he was what the humans would consider to be "illiterate", though only with the alphabet and language the humans used.

It wouldn't be a problem, though: now that the Princess's mind was linked to his, she'd be able to read it. Speaking of the link, he tapped into theirs at that moment, and in a moment, was viewing what she was doing a the moment. He lingered for a moment, observing the human male she was standing next to. _Hm. Wonder who the gypsy is._ Kal watched them a while longer: they were both laughing at something he'd missed. Then, spontaneously, the gypsy leaned in an kissed Allie on the lips.

Kal severed the link and snapped his mind back to where he was, aware of the sudden flare of pain in his hands. He lifted them to chest level, and unclenched them: his claws had pierced the palms and made deep punctures from which blood welled up, running over the sides of his hands in warm streams and onto the floor. He mentally scolded himself for that old, reflexive habit of clenching his hands when something set him off…then stopped and wondered what it was. _Allison and that gypsy? So what? _ He shelved a feeling that he supposed must be anger, but felt deeper, more cutting. _It's just that affection humans insist upon having all the time, infatuation. It just set me off…idiots. Who needs that crap?_

Now he was working himself into a worse mood than he had been when he'd threatened the man at the desk.

"Kiiyen-drose-t'res. _All_ of them." He unlatched the window and flew off, in the direction of the nearest lake.

The heat was _really_ getting to him.

* * *

Allie flushed so hard she was surprised her head didn't combust into flames. After Robin drew back, all she could say was "..Oh."

He immediately started apologizing. "I'm sorry, really, I just…I--well, you're too cute for your own good, d'you know that?"

"N-no…you don't have to apologize." Allie felt much too embarrassed to tell him that that had been her first kiss; whenever nobles had tried to, she had either made a hasty excuse to leave, or (much to Mel's approval) slapped them across the face. _Then _left.

"I should, though. I truly _am _sorry--I shouldn't have kissed you like that…it--no, I can't say it was impolite, because that would just sound plain stupid, but…_ah_." He tapped his forehead with the heel of his palm. "I'm an idiot, aren't I?"

"No! You--you're actually quite smarter than most of the nobles and dukes I've met--"

"And how did you come across so many people of high status?"

"I--well, I am a traveler, aren't--hey, don't direct the subject at me!"

Robin gave a half-grin and shrugged. "That works most of the time."

Allie noticed that _he_ at least wasn't blushing, Was it only _she _that did that all of the time? "No, it's fine, really. No hard feelings. I didn't mind." She mentally kicked herself for the last part. _"I didn't mind"? Do you realize how stupid that sounds?_

"Then you wouldn't break my kneecaps if I did it again?" Almost before she nodded (rather dumbly) he did.

"Why would I break your kneecaps?" she asked after they had broken apart.

"The most painful bone in your body that you can break," he said dryly. "I have people who can honestly testify on that."

Allie, who's face was still quite red (an her mind still mostly on the kiss), said "Who?"

"Why don't you ask him?" Robin said jerking his thumb at the person who was walking somewhat unsteadily towards them. "Oy, Jake!"

The person, Jake, seemed to be a year or so older than Robin, and much thinner. His skin was darker, and he had stringy, tangled brown hair that fell into his large green eyes and over his ears. His nose looked a little lumpy, like it had been broken more than once (and quite badly). He wore brightly colored breeches and was barefoot and topless.

"Robin! When'd you grow those extra eyes?"

Robin smiled and whispered in Allie's eyes, keeping his eyes on Jake. "I swear, when he's sober, he's the nicest guy to be around. Practically my brother." At Jake, he said "This is Allie. Be polite, please."

Jake staggered over to them and held out his hand. " 'M Jake. 'Tis a pleasure to meetcha."

Allie shook his hand after a split hesitation. His left hand had a scar that was the twin of Robin's.

Jake grinned as he saw her notice it. "Yeah, got that from sneakin' candles outta the church, me n' Robin."

Allie shot Robin a reproachful look. "You…stole candles? From a church?"

_Now _Robin looked embarrassed. Jake laughed at this. "Oh, he barely remembers it, him bein' so drunk at th' time! He didn't tell you, huh? Guess he wanted to impress you. I don't blame him: you're a very pretty girl." Jake smiled lazily. "'N don't hold that against him--Robin's quite th' gentleman, when he's sober."

Allie listened with a kind of horrified interest, until the last bit. Then she had to laugh: Robin had said just about the same thing to her about Jake!

"What did I tell you. Like brothers." Robin said dryly, looking a little annoyed. "C'mon, Jake, let's get you sobered up."

"No, I'm perfectly fine! Really, see?" Jake walked in what he probably thought was a straight line, but in reality was more of a squiggly line, and right into the sapling Robin had thrown his knife at. He lay perfectly still on the ground, grinning at the sky. "See?"

"Course you are, brother-dearest." Robin bent down and slung one of Jake's arms around his neck, and looked apologetically at Allie as he stood up. "I'm sorry, but if I let him wander around, he'll get us all into trouble, or something he'd seriously regret."

"That's fine." Allie gave a half-hearted wave. "Maybe I'll see you later?" she asked hopefully.

"You could come to our performance tonight, if you'd like."

"Love too."

"Au revoir, then." He tuned to walk off, and Jake looked over his shoulder and waved. "Bye, bye!"

Allie giggled and headed back to town.

* * *

_Er, Kal? Kal, can you hear me?_

**_-what?- _**he snapped, angered at her voice. He flew over the lake, mist flying up and hitting his face, but doing nothing to cool his temper.

Well, I'm in the center of town..

_**-so?-**_

_God, don't be so snippy! As I was saying, I don't know what inn I'm staying at! _

Kal pulled up and made a circle in the air, plunging into the water. While he was swimming, he allowed her to see on of his memories: the mental picture of the inn. Then, before she could see anything else, he blocked her out. **_-that one-_**

_Alright, thanks!_

Kal surfaced for air and shook his hair out of his face. _Oh, I forgot to tell her what name she's under, _he thought without any guilt.

_Oh, well. So sad._


	22. Chapter 21

A/N- Well, here's chapter 21. Hope you're all having good holidays! And happy New-Year!

* * *

Allie, after changing into a dress for the first time in a month, followed the stream of people to the gypsy's fair. It was dark by that time, and she still hadn't seen Kal anywhere. _Hm. Maybe he's gone somewhere else to…I don't know, sulk? Grumble at the stupidities of the human race? Play that odd violin of his? Kill things? Catch his supper…oh ew, I hope not._

She wandered around the many tents that had been set up, until she located the place where a large wooden target board, obviously having seen lots of use, had been set up. Robin was standing blindfolded in the middle of the clearing, and next to him was Jake (looking considerably more sober). As she watched, Jake juggled the knives, all much bigger than the one Robin had shown her that afternoon, and then tossed them to Robin, one by one. He caught them without missing a beat, and flung them at the board.

They all landed squarely in the bull's-eye, much to the entertainment of the crowd. Bowing to the applause and slipping off his blindfold, Robin and Jake switched places: Jake did nearly as good, with only one knife landing slightly outside the centre circle. After a minute of this, the crowd moved on, giving the two gypsies a slight break.

"That was great!"

Robin grinned as she approached them. "Especially since Jake's a bit more sober…aren't; you, Jake?"

"'Course I am." He took Allie's hand and bowed over it. "Good to meet you, Allie. Enjoying the show, so far?"

"I haven't really seen much of it, yet."

"Well, go and see then! You should see the people in the tent over there: the trapeze and stuff." Jake pointed to the largest tent.

Robin nodded. "Meg there might give you a turn, though."

Allie looked questioningly at them. "Meg?"

"She's the contortionist," Jake explained. "I think she made that one fellow loose his supper, didn't she?"

"She did," Robin agreed. "Puked all over his wife. Nasty smell.."

Allie held up her hand and made a warning gesture. "Please, spare me the details! I have a very weak stomach."

Jake laughed. "Came to the wrong show then, didn't you? Don't worry, we'll get you a bag, if you'd like."

Allie laughed in spite of herself. "I'll try to keep my supper down…just no more gross stories."

"You'd think," Robin said, raising an eyebrow, "that a traveler would have a stronger stomach."

_Damn_. "I know, embarrassing, isn't it? can't help myself, though." Eager to change the subject, she looked pointedly at the tent. "I think I _will _go over there…I'll come back here in a bit."

Robin smiled and waved. "Hope you like the show."

* * *

Most places, Kal tended to stick out, mostly because of his eyes…and then it was the length of his hair, and how he left it untied. And his outfit was entirely black.

But nobody gave him a second glance as he walked (limped, actually) around the gypsy fair. In fact, he looked like he fit in.

Allie was his charge, after all. He was bound by his own magic to protect her life. No matter how annoyed and fed-up with her he was, he still had to keep his mis-matched eyes on her pathetic little human self and make sure she didn't kill herself.

_And I'm more than fed-up with her…her annoying laugh, her weak stomach, her high-pitched voice and endless nagging…I can't think of how many times she's harped at me since we met! Why did I choose to become her stupid protector in the first place?_

He drew a look from a passing man as he grumbled to himself. "I was _definitely_ not made to be a protector."

The Princess went for a large tent after chatting to the two gypsy-boys. He recognized the brightly-dressed auburn-haired one as the person who had kissed her.

Again, that not-quite-but-almost rage feeling, pulsing like an evil tumor at the back of his mind. He ignored it and followed her.

Inside the tent, a pair of people switched alternatively in the air on trapezes, turning in a circle between the switches. A little ways off, someone walked across a tightrope twenty feet above the ground. To the left, a contortionist was twisting her body onto itself, sitting on her own head. Allie was watching the latter and turning a pale shade of green. Kal dropped back further into the crowd, smirking.

_God, what a wimp!_

He eyed the two men on the trapeze. One of them was a little off on the timing, he could see. Being a demon, his sight was much sharper than a human's. And that one also looked a little sick…something he ate?

Allie, luckily, was still watching the contortionist when that particular gypsy missed a beat and fell, twenty feet, to the ground. But, unfortunately for her, her hearing was in perfect working order.

The tent was soon in an uproar, nearly everyone running for an exit. Kal grabbed Allie by her arm and led her out before she was trampled.

"Kal!" She looked at him, wide-eyed. "What just happened?"

"You'll find out soon enough, I'm guessing. Go back to your friends." He shoved her forward, in the direction of Robin. He was already walking towards them.

"What's happening in there?" he shouted over the crowd.

Kal dropped his head and disappeared into the crowd.

_No way am I dealing with any more humans that I have to…_

* * *

"I don't know," she said when he caught up with her. "I think…I think someone might've fallen."

There were already a group of people going into the tent. Robin laid a hand on her shoulder. "You'd better stay out here. I'm going to go help."

Allie nodded and stood off to the side, watching the crowd. A good deal of people had already left.

A while later, the two of the group she had seen going in came out, along with Robin. They were arguing amongst themselves under their breath in a language Allie didn't recognize. Robin shook his head , then left the group. His face was grey, and his lips were a thin, white line.

"Poison," he spat. "_Poison._ One of those filthy _pigs _poisoned him!"

"Who did?"

"A Frenchman, that's who! They _never_ leave us alone!" He knuckles turned white as he clenched his hands into tight fists. "The nerve of them--!" He broke off and looked at Allie. "I'm sorry, but you should leave."

"O…okay.." Confused and taken aback by Robin's anger, she headed back to town.

* * *

"Well?" Jake leaned against a wooden barrel, eyeing Robin pointedly.

"We're leaving the day after tomorrow."

"So soon?"

Robin stopped his pacing and whipped his head around, the bells on his scarf catching the firelight. "What can you expect?" he snapped. "They already poisoned Benjamin!" He lapsed into Romany. "Next they'll start setting things on fire!"

"Easy, there, Rob'," Jake said in the same language. "don't give yourself a stroke, now."

Robin sighed and sat down on the dewy grass. Absently, he took out his dagger and twirled it between his fingers. "It's just so damned frustrating!"

"That's life, brother. Half-full, isn't that what you always say?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Here's that half-full part!" Jake sat down next to him and pulled out considerably good-sized cloth sack. Coins clinked together inside it. "'Ey? A hundred francs!" He dumped them out on the grass and split the pile in half. "There, fifty-fifty. What's say we go n' celebrate? You can bring your _petite blonde._"

Robin slapped him lightly on the head. "She's not my girlfriend, Jake."

"Well, why not?" Jake flipped a coin into the air and caught it. "You two look pretty cozy together…like when I stumbled upon you this afternoon."

Unfortunately, even if Jake drunk himself into a coma, he still remembered what happened. An extremely annoying trait at times.

"Shut up."

"All I'm saying is that life's pretty damned short, Rob'. Look at Ben over there. Went feet-up at sixteen. 'Course, he had a little help with that, but that aside, you should really size the moment."

"Like you did with that barmaid the other night?"

Jake grinned good-naturedly. "C'mon. The bar. I'll even pay for you."

* * *

The bar was quite crowed, packed with men and women, all laughing, chatting, and a few playing cards. Nearly all the tables were taken…except three in the farthest corner, for no obvious reason. There was a man sitting in the furthest, alone, Jake noticed, but no one to occupy the other two in front of him. He was glaring at the wall, silent, almost taking no notice of anyone.

"Let's take one of those," Jake said, waving his drink at one of the two tables. A girl, her face ruddy from drinking, winced and grabbed his shirt.

"Wouldn't go to near him if I was you," she said. "Awful nasty, he gets."

Jake and Robin saw the glares the other people at the girl's table were giving them, and sat down at one of the tables. _Better to risk that odd-looking fellow's temper than that of a group of Frenchmen_, he thought.

"Here's to…well, an extravagant way for us to say we're about to drink!" Jake laughed, clinking his mug against Robin's.

"I second that."

The both took a draught and wiped their mouths on the back of their hands.

" 'Ey, you, lovely weather, non?" Jake called over to the man in the corner.

He favored them both with an icy glare. His eyes, Jake saw, weren't exactly normal. Quite abnormal, in fact.

"Fine, fine. I take that as a signal that you wouldn't care to join us?"

He glared at them again and shoved his chari away form the table, standing up and leaving the bar. People hastily moved out of the way, making a clear path for the bad-tempered, long-haired guy with ripped, black clothes.

"And here I was acting all nice-like!" Jake said with mock-hurt. "Bottoms up, Rob'!"

* * *

Kal eventually dozed off on the roof of the inn, above Allie's room. Sleeping was something that didn't come easily to him, partly because of the paranoia that someone/thing would attack him, but alcohol made him drowsy. For that reason, he rarely touched the stuff, but he'd been in a worse mood than usual. _The humans, perhaps, or the heat? Maybe it was a combination of both. _

A few hours into the morning, Allie woke him up with a horrific screeching noise that made him want to claw at his ears.

"What in the name of God are you doing?" he yelled as he swung over the edge of the roof and through the open window.

"Oh, good morning." Allie smiled cheerfully at him. She was struggling to hold the heavy bow while she sawed it across his violin. "You left it in here. I was just trying--"

"Get your hands off of it!" Kal yanked both away from her and shut them away safely in the case. "If you _ever _touch it again, I'll strangle you with your own innards!"

"God!" She held up her hands in front of her in surrender. "I was just--"

"_Kiiyen taraken!_ This violin is worth more than a thousand of your pathetic human lives! I won't have you ruining it with your magic!"

"But I wasn't even _using_--"

"That doesn't matter, it stains your hands like poison! Those burns you give me are proof of that, _sa kiiyen_!"

"O-_kay_." She was looking close to tears, but Kal's rationality was clouded with his pent-up anger. She was the closest person he could vent it on, at the moment. So that's what he did.

"And besides that, why did you touch it anyways? You couldn't paly it to save your life! And you wouldn't have had that much of as life left, if you'd kept on going! It's a _demon _insturment, you stupid Princess, meaning there are dozens of demon _spells _worked into it! They'd rot your soul and burn your hands the way your magic burns mine! And most likely, your weak little hand would loose their gripa nd the bow would slide backwards and skewer you like a pig! D'you like that mental picture, being killed by a _violin_? You'd die right there, in your night-clothes, in a pool of congealing blood!"

"I said al_right_! You don't have to _yell_!" Now she _had_ started to cry. Kal turned his back on her and fastned the clasps on the case, eyes flashing.

"You're always yelling at me, you _selfish, _evil bastard!" she continued, face the shade of a tomato. "I can't count all the times you've called me stupid and annoying and w-weak and--those insults in that _idiotic _language of yours! I didn't ask for you to be my protector and follow me around!"

"I figured as much!"

She picked up her hairbrush from her nightstand and chucked it at his head. It missed and clunked against the wall and fell to the floor. "I don't _need_ you to be telling me how dumb nad incompetant I am every other second! Tell you what: leave _Death_ here! At least the _bird _knows how to act civil! As for yourself, go…jump off a cliff or something!"

"Maybe I will, _Princess._" He spat the last word like a curse. "And _you_ can go elope with that gypsy, have a big, happy family, then kill them all with your magic once you loose control over it!" He jumped onto the windowsill and flew off.

Much later, while he tried to cool his head, he realized that he had scolded her for doing what could have killed her…had he been _worried_? Worried that she might've hurt herself?

_About that weak, annoying, human Princess?_

_Not a chance in hell_.

* * *

"Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, tomorrow." Robin half-smiled at Allie. "We'll be packing everything up today."

"Oh." She corsed her arms over her chest and examined a blade of grass. "That's too bad."

"Yeah. Too bad," he echoed, looking disappointed.

"You have a little extra room in one of those wagons?" Allie asked casually. Robin tilted his head, not catching on.

"Not much. Everything is really crammed, really. Except for the wagons where separate families sleep."

She kept her gaze on the blade of grass. Robin studied her face. She looked different today: her eyes were bloodshot, and her face was drawn but determined. "Don't; suppose I could squeeze in with you and Jake, then."

He realized what she was hinting and was momentarily speechless from surprise. "I--I suppose you could--if you wanted to come--"

"I'd be happy to."

Something about her tone was less than happy.


	23. Chapter 22

A/N- Sorry about being so late with this chapter! I have final exams coming up, and the profs are piling on the homework. I'll try to get the next one finished a little earlier :)

* * *

Allie re-packed all of her clothes and double-checked that her boot-knife was, well, in her boot.

_I'm leaving today…with Robin._ The thought kept on echoing in her head, along with that look of rage in Kal's eyes when he had yelled at her.

_I suppose I shouldn't have made the argument worse…I knew that he had a temper, but…I guess I didn't know how pissed off he'd be. Why did he react like that, anyways? He didn't have to be so…angry! And anyways, if he was _that_ upset about what I was doing, he could've just said so! God! _ She picked up the hairbrush from its spot n the floor. _I chucked it at his head, and it missed…what if I'd actually hit him with it? He looked so…_scary_. Would he have tried to hurt me, even if it caused more damage to himself?_

_Well, you knew he was a murderer! How could you've been so stupid?_

_That settles it,_ she decided. _That offer for friendship I gave him is being tossed into the fireplace. I won't hang around him if it's going to be so dangerous. I don't care if it was partly my fault._

_I just won't._

Allie headed in the direction of the gypsy's campsite, carrying her bags slug over her shoulder. Thinking that her outfit from the Inn would be better suited for traveling, she had changed into it before she left, but regretted it from the odd looks it drew.

_Oh, well. Win-loose situation, I guess._

She was keeping her gaze fixed straight ahead, trying to ignore the stares, when she quite literally bumped into Kal, who happened to be staring quite angrily at the ground.

"Watch where you're going," he snarled, not looking up. When he did, his expression worsened. "Oh, it's _you._"

"Hey! What kind of greeting is that?"

"A good one, compared to hitting you upside the head for being such a klutz."

She tugged on one of the straps of her bags. "If you'd excuse me, I'm leaving."

"Oh? With your little boyfriend?"

"Well, that was your advice, wasn't it?"

"Since when, exactly, do you listen to me?"

"Since when do you throw tantrums over nothing?"

"It wasn't---!" Kal threw up his hands in resignation. "I won't even bother."

"Good, 'cause I don't give a damn."

"Neither do I." Kal stepped out of her way. At that moment, Robin appeared out of one of the shortcuts he'd shown her and walked up to them, looking curiously at Kal.

"Bonjour, Allie."

"Bonjour."

"Is this your, um, friend?"

"Yes." She shot Kal an icy glare that Robin missed. "You might say that."

Robin extended his hand (the un-scarred one) to Kal. "I'm Robin."

Kal stared coldly at Robin's face. Eventually, he dropped the hand to his side.

_That's right. Robin'd probably burn him. God, why is he staring at him like that?_

"Kal," he said.

"A pleasure to meet you, Kal."

"I don't have anytime for small-talk. Au revoir, _Sparrow_." He favored Allie with another cold look from his mis-matched eyes. "And goodbye to you…_Princess._ I'm sure our paths won't cross again."

"I'm sure you're right," she answered through her clenched teeth.

Kal nodded his head with mock-politeness and walked away.

"Allie? Are you alright?" Robin was looking at her in concern.

"Yes."

"What was that all about? And why did he call you Princess?"

"Long story. You wouldn't like it." She knew that Robin could read between the lines and figure out the real message: _Drop it._

"Probably." He offered her his arm and she linked hers through it, smiling. "So that was the man you've been traveling with?"

"Yeah. He's a real bastard, isn't he?"

Robin laughed shortly. "If you say so."

* * *

Kal watched the two walk away arm in arm, his blood sizzling with anger and the adrenaline that usually came before a fight.

_What the hell is wrong with my head? _He asked himself as he limped in the direction of the edge of town, though the opposite direction of Alison. Why hadn't he thought to get his violin sooner? _Jeez, it's just…stupid humans showing even dumber emotions. And the heat. And…that's right. It's nearly the thirteenth…_ He shook his head. _How can I keep forgetting that?_ He waited until he was out of sight before dropping his illusions and taking to the sky. The rush of cool air felt great, the closest thing to heaven he'd ever experience. The more pronounced ache in his heart and practically his entire body told him that it would be raining soon, despite the clear, blue sky. _If I ever live to an old age, I'll be one sore bastard, _he speculated. _Heh. Like I'm not already._

As Kal eventually wings eventually fell into a rhythm that to him was automatic as breathing, his thoughts drifted back to the thirteenth.

_I wonder if I'll spend it in the mountains again…might as well. I don't have to worry about that bratty Princess anymore, so it's not as if anything's changed._

Inthe most deserted areas of the mountain ranges was where he stayed on that day. It was where his village had lived, fifteen years ago. His old house, his family's house, was still there, held together by an odd species of vine that originally was from the demon plane. It like cold places, and was immensely strong. It was the purple colour of a bruise, and its sap was the exact color and texture of blood.

The house itself was simple, with four rooms and a single floor. One of the rooms had been his parents…the ones who had cursed him with his name as much as anything. One had been for his older sister …she always got him into trouble, Karay. Her name in his language meant "bell", and she had a voice to match the name, he remembered. She looked like a miniature image of his mother…and had her wild streak, even at the young age of seven.

The third room, he suspected, had been meant for him, when he grew older. Kal guessed by the sealing rune above the door, to keep evil in.

But the fourth was a mystery. It looked like a bedroom, as far as he could tell from the furniture, warped and disintegrated by snow and ice. But why was it there? Guest rooms weren't used by the Raven demons…

Kal shook his head to try and clear it. Another sign that the effects of the nearing thirteenth were taking a toll: his thoughts always drifted.

In his room were various types of restraints he had acquired (in other words, stolen) over the years: abnormally thick chains, demon-made, from spelled adamantine, shackles, and the like. It was all necessary…he was bound to go on a rampage if not restrained, and in that frame of mind, he probably would die before the die was out. Murdered, that is, or by suicide unknowingly carried out.

_God, I'm a freak,_ he thought, and began to laugh. _A heartless, evil freak!_

_To hell with the Princess and her beau._

_Let them both die, for all I care._

* * *

"_Kill him!"_

"_He killed Karen! Kill the demon!"_

"_Kill him!"_

"_Shoot his heart out!"_

"_N-non! Wait, please! Please don't hurt me! I didn't mean t----"_

_BANG. BANG._

"Allie? Allie, are you alright?"

She started and saw that Robin was staring anxiously at her. "Oh…yes. I'm fine. I dozed off for a minute, that's all."

It'd been a while since Kal's memories had invaded her mind…but what else could the gory daydreams be? And she definitely couldn't tell Robin…

_God, there was so much blood…_

"Allie?"

"Oh, sorry. What'd you say?"

Robin smiled patiently. "I was wondering if you'd like something to drink. You look thirsty."

"That'd be nice. Thank you." She tapped her forehead as he bent to get some water behind them. _Get out of my head._

They were both sitting at the front of Robin's wagon, that he shared with Jake, who was napping in the back among piles of blankets, tents, boxes, and the board the threw knives at. They were third-last ion a line of many such wagons, all pulled by a mosaic of horses. The two pulling theirs were a chestnut brown and a grey with white spots.

"Here you go." Robin gave her the water-skin and re-directed his eyes on the line in front of him. "Anything else you'd like?"

_I'd like to forget about Kal, at least for a minute._ "No, thanks." She sipped the water and crossed her legs. The sky, though sunny just a few hours ago, was starign to darken with rain-clouds. "Looks like it'll rain."

"So it does."

More awkward silence stretched in between them before Allie broke it. "So…where will we be going next?"

"A town a little ways off. We'll be there by night-time or so."

"Sounds good."

"Yeah…sometime this month we'll be heading out of Paris. To Spain, I believe."

"Oh. I've never been there."

"It's nice."

Their polite (and rather dull) conversation was broken when a familiar raven swooped down and landed on Allie's shoulder, startling the both of them.

"A friend of yours?" he asked.

"Yes. This is Death. Death, this is Robin."

_A pleasure to meet you, Robin._ Death said, but the gypsy gave no sign of hearing him.

"Death? Isn't that an odd name for a bird?"

_Oh, I suppose he can't hear me. Normal humans never can._

_Too bad,_ Allie sympathized. To Robin "It's short for Death's Flyer. I have no idea why he was named that. He seems more of a Simon, if you ask me."

_Simon? Hm...I suppose that is a nice name. I like it._

"Who named him, then?"

"Kal, the aforementioned bastard," she said shortly.

_Ah, so you two have been arguing. What did he do this time?_

_I'll tell you later._

_Very well._

"Oh. I see. Is…Death, his pet?"

_I feel so degraded…_

"No, he just hung around Kal a lot. Closest thing to a friend the ass ever had."

_Well, actually, I think you'd be under that category, Alison._

_Shut up!_

The raven gave a defeated shrug of his wings and flapped onto the top of the wagon. _Fine. I'll just sit up here if you're going to be so snippy._

"You seem a little…upset about this Kal person. Did he…hurt you or anything?"

"No...no." She shook her head in frustration. "He never hurt me intentionally. He just has a really short fuse and a violent personality on top of that, and he's always calling me stupid or something of the like…I just got fed up with him, you know?"

Robin nodded sympathetically. "Why were you traveling with him, then?" He wasn't prying; just curious.

Allie shrugged, a little curious about that herself. "I suppose…I thought he needed someone to show him some…friendship, kindness? The man's an ass, but it isn't entirely his fault."

"You sound as if you pity him."

"Hard not too." Allie shook her head again, that seen of the messy-haired little boy covered in blood and moaning in pain like a little wounded animal. "But, still…if there's a chance he could end up killing me, even by accident…isn't that enough reason to stay away from him?"

Robin rested a warm hand comfortingly on her shoulder a moment and let the subject drop.

_The little boy, soaked in blood and sobbing next to the stiffening body of the woman. _

"_K-Karen…I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to hurt you…I'm so…sorry…_

"_So sorry…"_


	24. Chapter 23

A/N- Well, at least this chapter's out a little earlier ). Thanks, as always, for the nice reviews.

* * *

Kal sat deep in the branches of an elderly pine tree, the deep green needles all but obscuring him from sight. He had cut off his thoughts from both Death and the Princess, though with a lot of effort. He knew the Princess probably "saw" one or two of his memories before he did, but at the moment he could've cared less. He had a headache. All Kal wanted at the moment was to be left alone…and for the God-cursed rained to stop. The needles of the tree hid him, well enough, but it was a lousy shelter. His hair was dripping, and his clothes were soaked, clinging to him like a second skin.

This _brings back memories_, Kal thought ruefully. He was sitting so his knees were drawn up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. Hell, I'll be twenty in under a week, and here I am, sitting in a tree, like a little kid.

Shifting his position, Kal unfurled his wings from inside his back and hunched the protectively over his head. That kept the rain off o him, at least. He scoffed at himself for not thinking of it sooner.

Kal blinked the rain out of his eyes and shook his head like a dog, water spraying onto the undersides of his wings. As he stared out at the damp, quite forest, his vision of it framed by pine needles, he found his mind drifting unintentionally towards the Princess. She had a thick blanket over her head to keep off the rain. So did her gypsy-friend, her beau, Sparrow or something. They were both laughing.

He growled and forced his thoughts away from them. He didn't want her to sense him…he didn't want anyone to, for that matter. All he wanted today was to be left alone. He'd had enough of humans and demons and their stupid emotions and their even more idiotic antics…he just wanted to be alone.

But his memories would never let him be….they were always there.

_His parents were walking alongside him, each holding on of his hands. This was before Kal was Kalendrakk, before he turned evil, and their touch didn't burn him. He was three. His older sister, Karay (she was seven), skipped ahead of them. This was one of their rare outings to the forest not far from the mountains._

_The smell of pine needles permeated the warm air, heavy as any perfume. They all wore their summer clothes, lightly woven breeches and shirts. Dresses were rarely worn by the Raven demons, for the inconvenience it caused while flying or running, so Karay and Kal's mother, Torelli, wore the same style clothes as Kal and his father (Xeth) did._

_And it was usual for them to be wearing their summer clothes. After all, it was the tenth of July._

_Kal stumbled over a rock, his short toddler legs pitching him forward. Before he could fall, he was scooped up into his father's arms._

"_Easy, there, Kal!" Xeth laughed, talking in their language. Very few, if any, Raven demons spoke human languages._

"_Mom, Dad, hurry up!" Karay called over her shoulder. She was a good fourteen feet ahead of them, even for her size, which was a little smaller than average._

"_Don't go too far ahead, Karay!" Torelli yelled back. "We'll follow behind you with Kal!"_

"_No!" Kal argued, squirming in Xeth's arms. "I wanna go with Kay'ee!" _

"_Well…be careful," his father said reluctantly, and set him down on his feet. Kal wobbled dangerously then spread his wings to regain his balance._

"_Oh, Kal,_ yehvoii_," Torellie said, using the Raven demon's language equivalent of 'be careful'."_

"_Sorry," Kal replied carelessly, then folded his wings, retracting them into his back. He wasn't supposed to have his wings out around other people. The sharp edges could hurt somebody._

"_Hurry up then, Kal!" Karay shouted, running ahead._

Kal snapped back to the present, rain drumming once again on his skull. "Kiiyen," he muttered under his breath. "Kiiyen drose-t're, they're dead. They've been dead a long time."

But even after the rain had stopped, leaving the tree he was in smelling nauseatingly like the ones in his memory, he could still hear the musical language of the Raven demons, which his own voice turned into something feral and harsh. And the bell-like laughter of Karay, whose name he had always pronounced 'Kay'ee', Kay'ee laughing and shouting for him to hurry up, clumsy, you're too slow.

Kay'ee died, along with Xeth, Torelli, and two thousand, nine hundred and ninety-seven other Raven demons, his entire race, three days later.

* * *

Allie sat in the circle around one of the bonfires. With her were Robin, Jake, and two other people she didn't know. She was the only girl. The others were all trading stories, joking, and laughing.

The large field they were in was the mid-point to the other town they were headed to; it was dark, and the caravan had stopped for the night. The wagons were in a broad circle, and inside the circle were other groups gathered around fires. The scent of cooking meat and bread mixed with the damp smell of grass.

_You know, I think I could get used to this_, she thought to herself, grinning. _It's actually kind of fun._

Except for the occasional flashes of Kal's memories, blanking her out for a minute or so. Clips of gory fights and dead bodies and snow with deep puddles of red blood, and the occasional flash of people with blurry faces and tall, snowy mountains. Once, while she was listening to Robin, his voice was overlaid with another in a foreign language that seemed to be come from his mouth and also from right next to her.

And then, the thing that had startled her most.

It was not long after they had stopped for the day, and Robin and Jake went to set up their tents, along with an extra for Allie to sleep in. She went into the back of the wagon and looked at Jake's collection of odd collection of things he'd picked up at every town he'd been to (she had asked first). One of them, an stone gargoyle the size of her hand, was so well carved it looked as if it was real, with narrowed eyes, bat wings hunched over its spiked-ridged back, and viciously sharp fangs. She was holding it and wondering why someone would want such an ugly thing when it blinked. She blinked herself, hard, then examined it closely. It showed no signs of life, the grey stone motionless. Scoffing at herself, Allie poked its head, as if it assure herself it was just a statue.

It lifted its carved head and clamped its wicked teeth on the tip of her index finger.

Forcing down a whimper, Allie shook her hand frantically, trying to get it off. It sunk its teeth deeper into her finger and held on until she finally smashed it onto the floor, where it broke into two pieces.

"Oh, just _great!_" Allie said to herself, then, looking guiltily over her should, took both pieces and pushed them to thee bottom of Jake's box. She tore a piece of cloth off of her pants and wrapped her finger in it before the blood got on her shirt, then left the wagon to watch Robin and Jake, before some other inanimate object came to life and attacked her.

Now, sitting on a blanket on the damp grass, she recalled something Mina had told her during one of her magic-lessons: _Sometimes, if one loses control of his or her magic, it can affect the balance of other things_. She had tapped Allie hard on her head then, with a pointed look. _And eventually drive the user insane. So keep it in check!_

_But how can I keep it in check if I didn't even realize till now that it isn't?_ she wondered. _I don't _feel_ like I'm slowly going insane…think, Allie, magic control, magic control…oh, that's right. Meditation._ But that required a quiet, relaxing atmosphere. And, while the laughter and stories was certainly amusing, it wasn't quiet.

"C'mon, Robin, tell 'em the time when you ran down that street in Brussels naked!" Jake laughed, face flushed from the fire and the drinking-skin of rum. Before, he had declined, but, as he said, it was a party, wasn't it?

Robin laughed. "I'm sure that's not a story for a proper lady to hear," he said in excuse, glancing sideways at Allie.

_Ah, there's a good excuse to leave._ "Nah, go ahead and tell it. I was thinking about going for a bit of a walk. Get some fresh air." She gestured to the grove of trees at the edge of the wagons' circle.

"Alright, but be careful, Allie," Robin cautioned. "You could get lost quite easily."

"I'll be careful." She stood up, then on pure impulse, bent and kissed Robin, on the lips. Before he could say anything, she walked off, grinning like a madwoman.

* * *

"Alright, Allie," she told herself, leaning against a tree (the ground was still to wet to sit on) "be…relaxed and, er, medative." She closed her eyes and breathed in the way she'd been nagged on endlessly to: breathe in for seven seconds, hold it for seven seconds, and then breathe out for seven seconds. Eventually, she felt her heartbeat slow down and her body relax. And gradually, like she was supposed to, she concentrated on her magic, trying to see it. What she had seen at the Inn had been a small, compact orb of whitish-blue light, hanging suspended in darkness. What she saw now was a flash of whitish-blue light akin to watching a lightning bolt flash across her vision.

"Ah! Oh, _ow!_" She opened her eyes, stumbling away from the tree. Even though her eyes had been closed and, by all logic, it was a mental image and therefore couldn't really be seen, bright purple and green streaks obscured her vision. "Ow." She took a few steps forward, hands stretched out in front of her, and waited for her sight to come back. When it didn't, she tried to backtrack to the tree. After nearly tripping over a branch, she managed to, bracing one hand on the solid trunk.

Her magic had been strong enough to blind her (_temporarily,_ she prayed silently, _please let it be temporarily!_). That couldn't be a good sign, right?

"Um, Robin?" She called into the dark woods that she could no longer see. "Jake? Someone? I need some help. Hello?"

When a twig snapped, nearby, she sighed in relief. "Robin, is that you?" There was no answer, but now she could clearly hear footsteps, coming closer until they finally ended, not five feet away.

"Whatcha doin' out here, Allie?"

"Oh, Jake. Just walking." She held out a hand blindly to what she guessed was where he stood. "There was some heat-lightning, and I got a little blinded. Could you help me back? Please?"

"Anythin for a lady," Jake said, voice not that slurred, and took her hand and pulled her forward. She stumbled a bit, and he caught her. "Easy there!" he laughed, and then, to her shock, kissed her roughly.

"Hey!" she cried, and pushed away from him. "Not to hurt your feelings, but I--!" she was cut off by a cold metal blade pressing against her throat; she had gotten some of her sight back, and could see shadows and shapes, and Jake was right in front of her, holding a knife to her throat. Jake, who, when sober, was the nicest guy to be around. Jake, Robin's best friend and practically his brother. She looked at him, partially-blinded eyes now wide with fright. "Jake," she started, feeling the cool, sharp metal against her throat as she spoke. "Jake, put that down."

He just stood there, staring at her.

"_Jake_!" she said again, and he pushed the knife against her throat. Allie felt a bead of blood well up, then run down her neck, and had to fight down her nausea as well as he panic. "Just put the knife down," she pleaded.

"Why should I?" he asked, voice sounding far-away.

_Oh God please don't let him kill me, please I don't want to die!_ Then, frantically, _Kal! Kal! Kalendrakk Raee, help me!_ She was too afraid to yell for any other help. What if he simply just cut off her cries with a slip of his hand?

Allie had never felt as helpless in her life, knowing she could be killed off so easily. All the magic she had learned to protect herself and all the defensive maneuvers tumbled around confusedly in her mind, unfocused and murky. Every thought was now focused on Jake, whom she could now see quite clearly, and that drop of blood, slowly drying on her neck. Appearing infinitely far away was the bonfires of the caravan, all burning like little orange stars. Would they hear her even if she had decided to scream?

"Why should I?" Jake repeated, as much to himself as to her. "Why--" There was a rustling sound, and then a second later, a pair of glowing eyes was behind him. Another second and blood was flowing from his throat in a gory river, staining the front of his shirt. His eyes never left hers, until, making a horrible gagging, choking noise, he fell onto the ground.

Kal turned wordlessly away, wings poised to launch him into the air.

"Kalendrakk Raee, stay _right__where you are_!"

His wings loosened and hung down from his back, digging into the dirt with their sharp points.

Allie forced herself not to look down at Jake's body when she stepped around it, and stepped in front of Kal. The red whites of his eyes were glowing like two small flames from inside his head. The flames, at the moment, were staring off into the distance. "Why did you kill him?" she half-shouted. "All I meant was just to help me out, not to kill him! He was Robin's best friend, did you know that? You didn't have to kill him!"

Kal's eyes dropped to meet hers. "You would prefer your neck slit?"

"No! You could have just…I don't know, pulled him off of me or something!"

Kal shrugged and looked away. "He's no great loss. Just another filthy, drunk human."

"Just a--!" Allie's hands were clenched into fists. The terror of death was gone for the moment. "He had friends! And most likely a family!"

"Didn't stop him from putting a knife to your throat, did it now?" He lifted a hand and brushed his hair out of his face indifferently, not noticing or perhaps not caring that the hand he used was wet with blood.

"You didn't have to murder him!" she repeated. "And you shouldn't think that you can just go around taking lives without consequence!"

"Can't I?" he said without emotion. "I've been doing a pretty fair job of that, I think, for the past decade or so."

"Not this time," she snapped. "I'll—I'll turn you in. To the police. Or to Jessica."

"Go ahead, Princess," Kal replied. "You'll be personally responsible for my torture, seeing as no one but you can kill me, but feel free to do that. Jessica would torture me to insanity, but that doesn't bother you, does it? And the authorities…well; I'd just kill them and escape. More human deaths and they'd be your fault. Or," he said, staring at her," you could just kill me yourself. Prove Jessica right, why don't you? Kill me. You could easily get rid of my body, I imagine." He was speaking with a coldness that made her take a step back, even though her couldn't move from the spot where he stood. "You could live a long, happy life without the burden of a mental-link at the back of your mind, or without worrying about who I'm planning on killing next. Go on." He took a step forward, even though his leg moved very, very slowly, he took a step forward, until their bodies nearly touched. "If you really mean what you said…kill me." His eyes were on her, taunting her, daring her….and hating her. "Kill me, or give me over to someone else to be tortured."


	25. Chapter 24

Allie stood there, practically face to face with Kal, frozen. She just…froze. "I…I…" she stammered, looking at Kal's calm face and hate-filled eyes. "I can't. Please, Kal…don't ask me to do anything like that again." In spite of herself, Allie felt tears prick at her eyes. "Please don't. Don't talk like you expect me to actually do them." She was pleading, and she couldn't help it. Suddenly overcome by all the death she had seen that day (both by herself and in memories), she covered her face with her hands. "Please don't."

Allie felt that Kal was about to say something, but if he was, she never found out; Robin came along that moment, just before Kal retracted his wings into his back and placed his almost-human illusion over himself.

It took a moment for Robin to realize that his best friend was lying dead on the path. It only took a second to piece together that and Kal's bloody hand, and Allie standing with her hands over her face, as if in terror of the odd-looking man in front of her.

"You _bastard_!" Robin spat, closing the distance in between them with long strides.

With Kal's words still in her head, Allie dropped her hands and positioned herself between the two. "Robin, don't."

Hurt flashed across Robin's tanned and attractive face, shortly followed by confusion, then anger, all in less than a second. "Allie?"

"He didn't kill Jake," Allie sighed heavily, lying right to his face and hating herself for it, hating herself for protecting Kal.

"What? His hand is covered in blood!" Robin's eyes searched her face, suspicious. "He killed Jake. I can tell that just by glancing at him!"

Kal, whose back was still turned, said nothing, in his defense or otherwise.

"Kalendrakk Raee, you can move," Allie whispered under her breath, but he remained where he was.

"What did you say?"

"He's innocent, Robin."

"Then who killed him?" Robin snapped, waving his hand at Jake's body. "And why is Kal's hand covered in blood, then? Explain that!"

Allie looked at her feet and chewed her bottom lip. "I can't. It's too complicated."

"It seems incredibly simple to me. Kal murdered Jake, and, for some reason I don't understand, you're protecting him." He lifted her head and mad her look at him. He was angry, but hurt was also in his expression. "Why are you protecting him? He's a murderer, and you know it. Why are you defending him?"

_I don't know,_ Allie thought hopelessly. _Why don't you tell me that, Kal? Is it because I'm a stupid weak-stomached bleeding-hearted human? Is that why?_

Again, Kal offered nothing.

"Why are you defending that bastard?" Robin snapped, now more angry than hurt, sorrow for who had been his almost-brother being shelved for the moment. "He has blood on his hands, and you're lying anyways! _Why the hell are you defending him?"_

Allie felt tears threaten again, and forced them back angrily. "He didn't kill Jake," she repeated, she _forced_ herself to repeat.

Robin's hands clenched, perhaps in frustration and anger. If he was intending on hitting her, he changed his mind when Kal turned around and laid a hand protectively on Allie's shoulder. "Don't even think about it, Sparrow." Looking directly into the angry gypsy's eyes, he pulled Allie back a step towards him. "She's a bitch, and you know, I can't even stand looking at her any more. But if you even lay a hand on her, things will turn out badly for you. And you don't want to join Jake, there, do you, Sparrow?"

"It's _Robin_, you filthy, murdering low-life," he growled, though his hands relaxed. "_Robin_."

"I don't give a fuck, Sparrow," Kal told him calmly, drawing a gasp from Allie. "Come on, Princess. We're leaving." Before she could protest, he grabbed her arm and dragged her away into the cover of the trees. When they were out of sight, he picked her up and flew off.

Allie laid unmoving in the circle of his arms, afraid that he might drop her if she moved. And, true to his word, Kal didn't look down once at her.

* * *

Kal landed in the centre of town not long after, though Allie had fallen asleep during the flight. He glanced down at her, annoyed to find that she was holding onto the front of his shirt, the material gathered in her fists.

Instead of finding an inn or hotel to dump her off at (his supply of money was starting to dwindle), he walked to the very edge of all of the houses and shops and found an old oak tree. Kal was intending on leaving her to sleep right there, but she wouldn't let go.

"Wake up," he said, shaking her.

"Hmmm?" Allie cracked her eyes open; they were bloodshot. "Wha…" At first there was nothing but sleepy confusion; he supposed that she had, for a moment, forgotten everything. Then they hardened. "You…"

"Just let go of me, Princess."

"You killed Jake." Her hands tightened instead of loosening. "You…killed him."

"Get over it and let go."

"You killed Jake, and you hate me."

"Huh, seems you're not completely dense."

"I hate you too," she said slowly, blue eyes icy. "I hate you, Kalendrakk Raee."

He felt another odd feeling in his chest, something akin to what he had felt when he saw Allie and Robin together, but at the same time, different. "Glad to see we're on the same page, Princess," he said evenly.

"Kalendrakk Raee…I command you to stay right here for the rest of the night." She wormed out of his arms and stood by the tree. "I forbid you to try and harm me, and I forbid you to move until I otherwise say so. Got it? I won't have you killing anyone else."

"Very well," he managed to say through clenched teeth, and sat down a few yards off. "Fine."

Kal sat still as Allie curled up cat-like at the base of the tree and dozed off. When he was sure she was in a deep sleep, he relaxed his neck muscles until his head hung down, and hunched his shoulders forward. Slowly, he entered his preferred state of semi-consciousness. He could hear the deep, even breathing of Allie across from him, and the wind blowing through the leaves on the tree…even a few crickets a while off. But they all seemed distant, as if filtering through a wall before reaching him. H e retreated away from the normal world until he was aware of nothing but his music: he played it over and over again in a loop, an old Raven demon song with no words, only notes, hundreds and hundreds of intricate, flowing notes.

And for a long time, he wasn't aware of any hate or death.

* * *

Allie awoke to the sound of every-day town life: conversation, footsteps, and horses. Her body was stiff, and her black outfit was muddy; ditto her hair. Her eyes traveled to Kal, who sat not far away, apparently dozing, and felt an odd mixture of hate and regret. _He was only trying to help me after all…should I forgive him? _

_No. There shouldn't be any excuse for taking another person's life. I should have just broken off connection with him after he killed my parents and everybody else. What if my being around him just made him _more_ violent?_

_Don't think about it, Allie, _she told herself, moving into a sitting position. _Don't think about it._

As if Kal had heard her (and maybe he did) he opened his mis-matched eyes, alert as if he had never been asleep. "Why haven't you left?"

"I just woke up!" she snapped, hunger and the emotional exhaustion form the night before making her irritable. "Don't worry, I will."

"Then let me go."

"No. Not until I've had some time to think about what to do with you."

"You, thinking?" A wry smile twisted his face. "_There's_ an oxy-moron."

"You--you—_kiiyen-drose-t're_!" Allie spat, without even thinking about her choice of words.

Kal yawned. "Don't even try—your voice slaughters that language even more than mine does."

Allie clenched her hands and fumed silently a moment before coming to an idea. "Kalendrakk Raee, just _shut up_."

He regarded her silently, eyes burning.

_Now we both have something in common._

_We both hate each other._

_A lot._

Allie stood up slowly, the bones in her spine cracking into place. "I'm going to get breakfast. Don't you move."

She turned around and walked away without looking back.

More than a few people threw odd looks at her muddy and (for a girl) improper clothes, but most just ignored her and went about their business. Feeling a decent amount of francs in her pocket, she followed her nose to the bakery.

"Bonjour!" she dais cheerfully to the baker, trying to mask the bad mood Kal had put her in. "Comment ca-va?"

"Fairly well." The baker, a heavily-set man with thick, light hair, nodded in her direction. "You look like you chose the wrong place to take a nap. With the caravan, are you?"

"Caravan? Oh, no," she replied, hiding the sudden wetness in her eyes by bending to inspect the baked goods. "Just a traveler. Those buns look good," she said changing the subject. "I think I'll have one of those…no, sorry, two."

"Alright." He put them in a small paper bag and handed them to her over the counter. "That'll be ten francs, Mademoiselle."

She put the money on the counter. "Thanks."

"Have a good day," he called as she left, letting the door close behind her.

* * *

Kal sat with his eyes closed, but he could feel the eyes of the humans as they cast uneasy glances at him when they walked by. Bored with their nervousness, he re-immersed himself in his music, taking himself to another place again.

He didn't hear the small group of people approaching until they were right in front of him.

He opened his eyes and tilted his head in an annoyed way, as if asking _"yes?"_

"Are you Kal?"

He examined the group: all men, all wearing uniform. _Human police. What the hell…_ He met their eyes, and shook his head.

"What? You aren't, you say?"

He nodded.

"That's the exact description, sir," another told him.

"Are you positive?"

"Yes, sir."

"Kal, you are under arrest for murder," the one who had spoken first said, grabbing Kal's upper arm. "Come with us."

Kal narrowed his eyes dangerously, the words I don't think so forming in his head, along with how much blood would stain that man's uniform after he ripped out the kiiyen's beating heart.

_Kal, no!_ He twitched at the Princess's voice, and noticed her standing behind a bailing, watching them. _Don't! Just…go with them. Don't you dare hurt them either!_

Kal stood up slowly, staring at her with an immeasurable amount of hate. _How _dare_ she do this! That little bitch!_

He allowed himself to be led away, keeping his eyes on her until he was forced to look away.

_Fine. I won't hurt them_, he thought, sitting a while later in on the cold stone floor of his cell.

_Stupid Princess. You didn't say anything about _killing_ them._

_Or even staying in jail._

_Not one little thing._

He flexed his fingers, easing the stiffness out of them. _You didn't say I couldn't kill them. _

Kal got up and ripped the bars out of the stone as if they were kindling. The noise drew the guards, but that was fine. _Saves me a lot less work_.

The first went down easily; he had been the closest when Kal had swung his arm in a long arc. That guard's neck was now held onto his shoulders by a few scraps of flesh.

The next fell to his knees, his innards hanging to his knees like fat, pale snakes. Kal barely felt the bullet the third fired into his abdomen; and that one toppled over, a gaping hole in his chest. His heart was held in one of Kal's clawed hands, still beating for a few moments. As the fourth, remaining guard watched, Kal took a bite out of the pulsing, red thing. He fainted dead away.

Kal stood in the carnage, blood running down his chin and his stomach. He hadn't eaten in a good while, now, and relished the coppery taste as he took another bite out of the unfortunate guard's heart, his bloodstained fangs displayed in a smile. Halfway through his morbid meal, another man stumbled in.

"What's--" he started, then his face went gray with shock as he saw Kal…and what half-eaten object Kal held in his hand. "Dear Lord!" he pulled a pistol from his pocket, but his hands were shaking so hard he couldn't pull the trigger.

"Want some?" Kal asked calmly, offering the heart. "I'm full." Before the he could respond, Kal threw it at his face hard enough that the man stumbled backwards, exposing his throat…and then, there was no longer a throat.

Kal sneered down at the bodies. One of them, the one who had fainted, was staring to come to.

"Oh God…" he moaned, turning over. "Oh dear God..." He tried to scramble backwards, and slipped on the bloodstained floor. "P-please, w-wh-whatever you are," eh stammered, "d-don't kill m—!" His words were cut off as Kal launched a kick that caught him squarely in the forehead; bone cracked and shattered, blood flew…and a soft, gray matter seeped through the mess that had once been his forehead.

Kal began to laugh…softly at first, then so hard that he fell to his knees among the bodies. He laughed and laughed and laughed until he was gasping for air…then looked at his most recent kill's face. It was Xeth's face, his father's dead face, his father's brains showing though his skull, just as they had been that day fifteen years ago--!

Kal blinked hard, and then it was a human once more.

Laughter subsiding to giggles, he ripped the bullet from his abdomen and tossed it onto the floor.

Still giggling, he staggered out of the jail, knocking down the wall in front of him to do so.

Then he was on the street, swaying as if he was drunk, and giggling. People scurried out of his way as he passed, leaving a clear path for him.

And all the while, the sweet taste of the heart lingered in his mouth.


	26. Chapter 25

A/N: Yay for reviews! 3

Random quote: **_Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici._** (kudos to anyone ((OTHER than Mlle. Rae Lang, 'cause I know she knows)) who knows what that means in English.)

* * *

Allie stood at the tree, food still in the bag which she held in one hand. She was too nervous to eat—Kal was in jail….and she had just ran into Robin. The meeting had been brief…and unpleasant.

"_Still protecting him, are you?"_

"_Robin, please…"_

"_Don't bother. You won't have to for much longer."_

He had been the one that had tipped off the police; she knew it. She also knew that Kal thought she had done it—and why shouldn't he? She had been the one that told him to with them.

_Well, this solves my problem, doesn't it? Now he's some where he can't do any harm._

_Right?_

Allie spotted a familiar, long-haired person limping up the street towards her, and her heart sank. He had escaped…and hadn't she anticipated that? Why else did she wait at the tree instead of leaving? She should have known he'd get out. Kal was covered in blood; his? Or some one else's? She hoped it was the former.

"H-hey…Princess…" Kal greeted her, his words punctuated with giggles. He had one arm wrapped over his stomach, and he was bent over: it was apparent he'd been laughing for a while. She wondered…then shelved her curiosity.

She probably wouldn't want to know.

"Let's go," he said, still laughing, scooping her off and unfurling his wings from his back. Behind him, people started shouting, and a few screamed. He grinned at them over his shoulder, and he looked completely and utterly insane for a moment…then the look was gone, leaving only mirth, as he took flight. He was still giggling a bit, and Allie could feel the spasms of the muscles in his abdomen.

"Kal, you broke out of jail," Allie said, keeping her voice under control. You flew away in front of all those people. Are you _insane_?"

"Yes," he replied in a matter of fact way. "Yes, quite."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Lots of things, Princess."

"Kal! Will you _stop_ joking around!"

"I'm not joking." He had stopped giggling, at least, and looked a bit more in control…a very tiny bit. "No, not me."

"Yeah, right."

He looked like he was trying to remember something. "Know what day it is?"

"Um…July the 11th."

"Right." He fell silent for a moment, then grinned in a way that terrified her. "Well, 'bye then."

He dropped her.

* * *

_Jessica?_

Jessica gave Death with an irritated glare. "_What?_"

_It…it's nearly the thirteenth._

"I am aware of that."

_Well…I was hoping we could…could maybe drop our differences for that one day, and have a temporary truce._

Jessica looked back down at the small, lethal dagger she held in her lap. "You're asking me to leave Kalendrakk alone?'

_For that day, yes._

"Alright."

_Pardon?_ Death asked, thinking he had misheard her. _What did you say?_

"I said alright. I suppose I could take a little break."

_Truly?_

"Truly, absolutely, verily, whatever you'd prefer." She held up her hand as if swearing an oath. "I promise that I will not harm Kalendrakk on the 13th."

_Thank you, milady Jessica_. It was evident form the relief in Death's voice that he was expecting a negative answer. He bowed deeply from his perch on her bed roll. _I am eternally grateful!_

She waved her hand dismissively. "Go on, get out of here. I'd like to have some peace and quiet, for once."

_Of course, milady. Farewell._ He bowed deeply before hopping out of her tent, nudging the flap open with his beak.

Jessica smiled tightly, turning the dagger so it caught a beam of light. It shone off of the intricate runes that were set into the hilt with bronze wire. "Of course _I_ won't harm Kalendrakk.

"I wouldn't be so sure about the Princess, though."

* * *

Kal dipped his wings and dropped into a dive. He fell faster, much faster, than Allie was falling. When he flared out his wings and righted himself, she fell quite literally into his open arms, hard. She looked like she'd very much lie to scream, but all that came out of her open mouth was a faint little squeak.

"Oh, did that scare you?" he asked conversationally, flapping to gain his former altitude.

"_Why the hell did you do that?_" she nearly shrieked when she finally found her voice. "You almost gave me _a heart attack_!"

Kal shrugged. "Don't know." He did know, though.

At that moment, he wanted to scare her (and, quite possibly, hurt her as well) just as much as he had wanted to kill those guards. His mind was starting to become affected by emotions…emotions he wasn't used to. He couldn't mentally handle things like giddiness, or euphoria or things the complete opposite, like sorrow. It wasn't the way he did things: anger, that was fine. A little bit of contentment, that was fine, too. But not this. He didn't need to be euphorically happy (with most of someone's heart sitting in his stomach), or nearly incoherent with old, old tears in the back of his eyes….or insane. He didn't need to be insane. He couldn't; afford to be, not now. It was too close to the 13th, much too close.

In his mind, he was replaying what had happened…but if he hadn't caught her. If she had fallen all the way to solid ground.

She would have broken open like an overripe fruit. Her blood would have painted the ground, stained it in so many wonderful shapes…

"If you thought that was funny…" the Princess was saying. He shook himself out of his daydream.

"Actually, I did."

She crossed her arms and grumbled to herself, crossing her arms. There was a stained paper bag in one of her hands. "Don't do that again. _Ever_."

"I'll think about it." But he was really thinking about large, red patterns on the ground…the fresh, coppery smell of blood…large eyes, white staining red, droplets of the crimson stuff spilling down her cheeks like tears…

_Shut up. Just shut up._

"I'm not even saying anything!"

"Same here."

"No, you just told me to shut up!"

_Is that bitch reading my mind, or—_

"Stop thinking out loud, Kal." She waited a beat, then "And I'm not a bitch!"

"I was thinking, and if you don't keep your mind out of my head--!"

"Fine, fine, don't get all riled up about it. It was just an accident." Under her breath, she added "Like I'd actually want to know what you're thinking." She shifted until she was sitting up and opened the bag, taking out a breakfast bun. "Want one?" she offered, a little grudgingly. "There's two of them."

"No…I already ate."

* * *

Later on, they were back in the same forest they had left the night before, where Jake had met his early end by way of Kal (though they were a good ways away from that particular spot). While Allie wandered around aimlessly on the forest floor, Kal sat in the crook of the branches of a tall tree, watching her disinterestedly.

"Why are we here? There's nothing to do," Allie complained.

"Where else do you have in mind? Go find something to entertain yourself."

"But I'm so _bored_."

"Take a nap, for all I care. As long as you just shut up." He leaned back against the truck of the tree and stared at the sky.

Allie crossed her arms and rolled her eyes; her theatrics ere wasted on Kal, but she caught something out of the corner of her eye. _A woman?_

"Hey, you!"

"What?"

"No, not you! _Her_!" Yes, if definitely was a her, but before Allie could make out anything else of her face, she turned and ran. "Wait up!" Ignoring what Kal was calling after her, Allie followed the woman.

The stranger led her on a pretty good chase, and by the time she stopped, Allie's hair fell about her face and she was out of breath.

"Who _are_ you?" She asked the woman, trying to catch her breath. The woman turned around, and Allie got her first good look at her.

She was actually quite pretty, for someone who was wearing cheap, torn men's clothes, with mud stains on the legs of her pants a dead leaf sticking in her hair. No, she was more that pretty, beautiful, even. She had a thin, angular face that was dominated by her large, soft brown eyes, thin-bladed nose, full lips, and elegant cheekbones. Though she looked to be Allie's senior by ten years or so, she wasn't much taller, and looked more delicate with her slight build. Her skin was the same tan shade Kal's was when he wore his illusion…in fact, this woman looked a little like Kal in other ways. Her hair, like his, was a black that seemed to shimmer with subtle purple tints when the sun hit it. And she had the same stubborn set of her mouth, same nose, same cheekbones…and the same look in her eyes that looked like they was laughing about something, and daring you to do something about it. Allie had seen Kal's eyes looking at her like that a few times…and this woman was looking at her the same way.

"Kiu," she said. The language was completely foreign to Allie, and yet familiar at the same time. "Qi Torelie, borii na'te--" she ended her sentence with a rueful shake of her head, her eyes now more sad than daring.

"_I'm Torelie, mother of--." _ That's what she had said. Allie didn't know how she knew it, but she did, somewhere in the back of her mind.

But why had this woman, Torelie, broken off?

"What was that all about?" Kal dropped from a branch, landing between Allie and Torelie. "You ran off talking to nobody."

"No, I didn't! She's right _there_!" Allie pointed over Kal's shoulder, but Kal looked at Torelie without really seeming to see her. When he turned around, he raised a skeptical eyebrow at Allie.

"Now it's _my_ turn to ask _you_ if you're crazy. There's nobody there."

The woman's face seemed to break; where once it was strong and a little defiant, it now seemed heartbroken. "Siil boruu…" she whispered. She walked around until she was nearly body-to-body with Kal, and lifted up slim-fingered hands to his face.

_My son…_

_Oh God! That's why they look so alike!_

_That's Kal's _mother!

"Sill boruu," Torelie repeated. She collapsed against Kal's chest, holding onto Kal's shoulders for support, and yet Kal seemed completely unaware of it. How could that be?

Torelie continued to speak, but her words were so rushed and flowed together so that Allie caught only a few sentences and words, here and there.

_Why…why are you so cruel, my son? You…killed…so evil, so cruel…your heart, it's so crooked…you're so torn and broken…so evil…why…killed so, so many…destroyed…_

Then Torelie rounded on Allie, and suddenly they were nose-to-nose. Allie could smell decay and the foul, putrid odor of death on her breath.

**_AND WHY AREN'T YOU DOING ANYTHING, GIRL?_**

"Stop it!" Allie staggered backwards, holding her hands to her head; it felt like it was going to explode. "Stop!"

"What the _hell_!" Kal exclaimed, but she barely noticed him. Torelie reached out and grabbed Allie's wrist: Allie felt a skeleton's hand, icy and twig-like, instead of warm flesh.

_**WHY AREN'T YOU DOING ANYTHING? YOU'RE LETTING HIM SUFFER, YOU SELFISH HUMAN GIRL! WHY AREN'T YOU DOING WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO?**_

"I don't know! I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" Allie wailed, believing that, any second, blood would begin flowing out of her ears at the sheer force of Torelie's screaming inside her head. "I don't know!"

"Allie!"

_**YES, YOU DO!**_

"Allie!"

_**YOU DO!**_

"No, I don't!"

Kal grabbed her by her waist as she fell backwards, but she didn't feel his arms, or hear him yelling at her, or smell the blood that was still wet on his shirt. Everything was narrowed down to those horrible screams, which now sounded like they were being thickened by sobs.

**_YOU DO! WHY—_**

And then black, thick silence replaced the screams, and she was aware of nothing.

But not for long.


	27. Chapter 26

A/N- umm...not much to say.

* * *

Kal set Allie down on the forest floor. She didn't show any signs of waking up, and like hell he was going to try to wake her; she hadn't been screaming at nothing because she was crazy, or fainted because she was tired. The entire situation reeked of magic, her magic, and if he tried to mess around with that, he might end up like her.

_She'll just have to sleep it out,_ he thought to himself. _It'll pass, eventually. _What Death had argued about with him (and there were so many things that he argued about) was starting to happen: since those damned Eagle demons had stopped draining her magic to create weapons to be used against him, her magic was becoming too strong for her mind to handle. _Guess I'll have to listen to that crow, for once, and bind some of that magic of hers_. He could do that, at least make the strain of the magic a little less, until she got used to it and learned to control it better.

_Or_, the thought came, causally and almost automatically to his mind, _or, I could just kill her right now…then there wouldn't be any strain on her mind, no, none at all. Just a simple, quick transition from magic-induced sleep to a death-induced sleep, a very permanent sleep…she wouldn't even wake up. _The idea in his half-cloudy mind was very appealing. _You'd be free of the little trollop forever…except in your dreams, of course, but who cares about those? The only person on this earth who's able to kill you will be killed _by_ you, and wouldn't that be ironic? Yes, just kill her now, before she wakes up._

Kal let his hands, which had been creeping towards her exposed throat, drop to his sides. He walked a little ways off, sat down, and waited for her to wake up. As he watched, she jerked in her sleep, and curled up in a ball, as if frightened by his thoughts. She couldn't hear them, though, of course.

Allie was some where else, somewhere far away.

Nearly twenty years away, in fact.

* * *

**Inside Allie's Head…**

"_Shh, Tor'ie, you need your rest." Xeth laid a cool hand on his wife's hand and her fingers instantly gripped his. Her eyes, exhausted after the labor, were focused on his._

"_Xeth, give me our child," she repeated. The newborn, their third child and second son, was held in his other arm, cradled against his body. "Let me see him…"_

"_Tor'ie," he said again, using his nickname for her, "just go to sleep. You're tired--"_

"_What are you keeping from me?" Even as tired as she was, her eyes were now more focused, and piercing. "What have you seen?" By seen, she was referring to, of course, his sense of prophecy. "What have you seen about our son?"_

_Their son, barely an hour old, began to cry. He had been oddly quiet after he was born, but now he wailed, a high, screeching sound that sounded like metal on glass._

"_Give him to me!" It wasn't a request; it was an order. Xeth sighed and carefully handed her the baby._

"_Stop crying, my little son, shh, it's alright," Torelie crooned, holding him to her chest and rocking him gently. "It's--" she broke off, noticing for the first time the unusual color of his skin. It was inky black, and, she saw, it was exactly the same tone over his entire body. And his eyes! One of them was a normal color for a Raven demon, but the other was purple, a very pale shade of purple. "Is this what you wanted me not to see? That's--"_

"_He's barely one of our kind, Torelie," Xeth sighed. "He's like nothing I've ever seen before…he is completely unique."_

"_Well, good."_

"_But that isn't good," Xeth tried to explain, "not with what he is destined to be."_

"_What are you trying to say?" Torelie unconsciously hugged the baby tighter._

"_I've seen his future…some parts of it. His name," Xeth said, "will be Kalendrakk. He…Torelie, my love…he will be a murderer."_

"_That's impossible." She had been ready to fall asleep a minute ago; now she was wide awake. "None of our entire race has killed another. It's impossible." She looked down at her youngest son, whose name was to be Kalendrakk, but shortened to Kal whenever it was used, to make it less harsh. "He's different, I know, but…he can't possibly…"_

_Xeth, in spite of himself, was starting to tear. "He will…he will. He will kill so many people…I saw…"_

_The newborn Kal raised a small fist, roughly the size of a walnut, and grabbed a fistful of his mother's shirt. It was natural enough, almost n instinct to grab…but when he pulled, the section of fabric was torn away._

"_He is very strong. He will get stronger."_

"_What will we do?" Torelie whispered, rocking Kal back and forth. "Xeth, what _can_ we do?"_

"_Nothing. I saw. No matter what we do, we can't change what he'll become. We can't change him…he's evil." Xeth impatiently wiped away tears with his hand: he was nearly two hundred years old, but, like all immortals, he barely looked a day over thirty. Grief and a sense of helplessness made him appear even younger. "It was all jumbled up in my head…I didn't see what part we will play, though…it was as if there was a…a sort of blankness when I tried to. But there were so many horrible things I did see." He reached to touch Kal's head. "He killed so many people…but he suffered horribly as well." He had to swallow a hard lump in his throat. He himself was still trying to grasp it all…how could this have happened to his family? How? How could his youngest child been born with this terrible curse, the curse of evil? It wasn't supposed to happen. Things like that never happened, not in the pacifist race of Raven demons…not to his family…not to his _son._ "But I saw one thing…the only way to stop this before it starts."_

"_What?" Torelie tensed her eyes eager. "What? Anything, no matter what it is, we'll do it. Whatever it takes--"_

"_In his future, he will be almost completely invincible. There will be one person, a human girl, able to kill him…but..."_

"_What?"_

"…_I saw that…if we…killed him now…none of that would happen."_

_The both fell into a painful silence. Torelie started to cry. At last, they looked at each other, and both shook their heads. They both knew what the other would say._

No. We won't kill our child. We can't. We will raise him, try to change his future. We will be gentle to him, and love him. It will be as if we never knew his future.

The future is not definite.

It can't be.

* * *

"_Well…" Torelie crossed her hands behind her to stop herself from nervously fiddling with them. "Fly safely." She then tossed all her notions to act reserved away and hugged her son, her eldest child. "You'd better fly safely, damnit, Drel, or I'll see to it that your wings are clipped!"_

"_Easy, mother," Drel laughed, and patted her back. "I'll be back in a month!"_

"_How long is that?" Karay, the seven-year-old, and the only girl, tugged on his pants leg. "How long?"_

"_Well," Drel said, slipping out of Torelie's arms and bending down. "Today is the twelfth of July. I'll be back on the twelfth of August."_

"_Oh. I understand." _

_Then Kal, three years old, came running in on unsteady legs. "Drel!" he exclaimed, and tackled his older brother. Drel was momentarily thrown backwards by his sibling's unnatural strength before regaining his balance. "'Bye!"_

"_Bye, Kal." Drel messed Kal's hair with a hand. Now, don't you go and forget me!"_

"_I won't!" Kal grinned broadly, displaying tiny fangs. "Promise I--"_

* * *

"_Mom!" Kal knelt by his mother, dizzy from the stench of blood that seemed to come from everywhere. The entire mountainside, it seemed, was soaked with blood. He hadn't seen a single Raven demon that was not dead, or snow that was untouched by blood. Karay and Xeth were not far away…their bodies…were not far away. But, incredibly, Torelie was still breathing. It was incredible because there was a hole in her abdomen large enough to see the stained snow that lay underneath her. _

_Her eyes found his. "Ka…Kalen—K-kalendrak-k…" she whispered, and then she coughed. Blood sprayed onto his face, onto his nose. He knew, even then, that he would never forget that smell, the smell of his dying mother's blood._

_She died. Her eyes glazed over, but they never left his. They were sightless as glass orbs, but they never left his._

_Kal buried his face in her bloody chest, and cried._

_Soon, it began to snow, covering the stiffening bodies._

* * *

"Hello, Dominic."

Dominic looked up from his book. "Good evening," he said mildly. His voice was melodic, and only slightly accented from his native language. He seemed rather unsurprised that an Eagle demon had just stepped into his study. He only set down his book, laced his fingers together, and waited politely for the demon to say something.

"I've come to discuss your family," Jessica said, taking a seat. Her eyes took in her surroundings; it was a perfectly normal British study. The man across form her looked like a perfectly normal British gentleman.

But that old saying was always right: looks can be deceiving.

"Then surely you now that they died a long time ago, Miss."

"All but one, isn't that right?"

"I don't understand," Dominic said, but Jessica saw she had hit a nerve.

"Isn't it true that you have a younger brother, in France or something of the like?"

Dominic clenched his jaw, and remained silent.

"It's his birthday, soon, you know. Aren't you going to celebrate it?"

Silence.

"I happen to know that your brother will be very weak that day…coincidentally, I also know someone will happen to give him a very slow-acting poison. One that will make it possible for the most inexperienced person to kill." She narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "Are you listening?"

"Yes."

"You still carry around tha magicked sword you bought off of a demon peddler, five or so years back, no?"

"How did you--"

"I think a sword like that would be very useful in a battle with a…thing like your brother, don't you?"

Dominic stood up abruptly. "I'm sorry, miss, but I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Certainly. But before I do…" she took a folded piece of parchment out of her pocket and threw it on his desk. "Directions on where to meet him. He'll come by himself, so don't worry."

"I will do nothing of the sort, Miss."

"Of course you won't," she said in a condescending tone. "Just remember: if you don't…well, I'll leave that to your imagination. Your paths will eventually cross; it's a small world. He won't feel any sentimentality towards you. He'll probably kill you…and the pretty little vampire fiancée of yours who's sitting in other room. Killing's a hobby of his." She turned to leave. "Two more days…Drel."

She left.

"Who was that?" Alexandra, his fiancée, stepped into the room, a frown on her face.

"Nobody important, darling." He glanced at the paper on his desk. "How would you feel about a vacation?"

"Oh." Surprised at the sudden topic change, she thought it over. "That would be nice, I guess. Where would we go?"

"I was thinking…France."

* * *

Allie felt herself starting to wake up…but she came back to reality very slowly. She could feel the soft grass she was lying in, as well as a stone that was jabbing into the small of her back. She could feel that it was cold out, and sensed that it was getting late--how long, exactly, had she been out?—but she still heard…things…inside her head. Voices, mostly, from another time.

_It wasn't my fault…I didn't mean…killer…murderer…stop…kill you…recherché, mort ou vif…Kalendrakk Raee…_Allie_…I'm going to kill you…_Allie_…I'll never…_Allie…

"Hey, Princess, wake up."

Allie cracked her eyes open. "Hmm?" For a moment, she thought she had fallen asleep by the stream back near her home. Her mind was so jumbled…then her dream came back to her. It wasn't a dream, but, whatever it was, it came back. Every detail.

_So much blood…_

"You were talking in your sleep." Kal was kneeling in front of her, apparently having shaken her awake. "You sounded like you were--" He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence: Allie suddenly half-tackled him around the middle, hugging him, and promptly broke down into loud sobs.

"What the—jeez, Princess, get _off_ of me!" He tried to shove her away, but she was clinging on too tight; if he tried any harder, and he would break her arms. "Get the hell off of me!"

She wouldn't let go, though, and Kal, muttering a fluent stream of curses under his breath, sat back and resigned himself to waiting. He couldn't remember ever being this uncomfortable: having a warm, emotional human sobbing into his shirt was worse, in his opinion, that any torture or wound he'd received. And he'd received quite a lot of both.

"_Kiiyen_," he cursed.


	28. Chapter 27

A/N: Since I rarely have much to say, why not instead replace the Author's Note with random quotes? As of now, the A/N shall now be the random quote of awesomeness.

_I long to fly in total freedom_

_And yet these chains keep dragging me down_

_I want to be an angel of the devil himself_

_But I am nothing but a creature_

_Longing for the things I can't have_

_And the slit goes through my very soul_

_It's a wound that never mends_

-The English version of Tanz der Vampires (Dance of the Vampires), Endless Appetite (Die unstillbare gier)

Sorry for the late chapter! I had writer's block…**AGAIN**.

* * *

Allie pulled away from Kal not much longer than a minute later, her face wet and her throat feeling raw. "S-sorry," she hiccupped, sniffling.

"Oh, don't be," he drawled, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "I'm used to emotional human females waking up from a magic-induced trance, breaking down, and soaking my shirt. It happens quite often, you know."

She sighed and wiped her nose on the back of her hand, wishing for a handkerchief. "I had some really bad…dreams."

Kal had peeled off his shirt; now he tossed it into her lap. "Here." He looked down at his chest; the skin there was taunt and shiny, as if it had a mild burn. "Let me guess," he said as she wiped her face clean, "you dreamed about me again."

"How did you--"

"Second time you woke up crying from a dream."

"Oh." She looked down at his shirt, and held it out. Kal shook his head.

"You actually think I want it back?"

"Guess not. Thanks." She put it down next to her, thinking back to what happened before she passed out. "I think…I saw a ghost. Before."

Kal shrugged. "It was some sort of hallucination, that's for sure."

"It was your mother."

He'd been staring off into the distance, pretending to be interested with a tree. Slowly, he turned his head and his eyes met hers. Allie flinched; she couldn't help it. It was the scariest she'd seen those eyes of his. There seemed to be miniature, jewel-colored flames dancing in them. "What?" he said, very softly.

"Torelie." She swallowed and cleared her throat, thinking that she must have been insane to have been hugging him not a minute before. "Your mother. I saw her ghost, think."

"Stop saying her name." She watched as one of his hands curled into a tight fist, his black skin turning grey over the knuckles, the way it went white if she did. Blood presently began to trickle out of his fist. "Say that name again, and I'll--"

"You can't kill me. You said so yourself. You said if you even raised a hand against me, you'd be hurt worse than I would."

"And how would that bother me, Princess?" He lifted his hand, as if noticing for the first time that it was bleeding. With almost conscious effort, he relaxed it; his claws had nearly gone all the way through his palms. "You were hallucinating, that's all."

"But Torelie--"

"_Don't_ mention that bitch's name!" he yelled.

Allie yelled right back. "Why are you getting so upset?"

"Because I _hate_ her! I hate _all _of them, understood?"

"Even your brother?" That seemed to strike a nerve. Kal fell silent, and blinked.

"_What_?"

"Your brother. Drel. D'you hate him, too?"

"Are you crazy?" he asked incredulously. He pushed back his hair with one hand, running his fingers through the knots. "I don't _have_ a brother."

"Yes, you do!" Allie insisted. "I saw him in my dream, or whatever that was! He--"

Kal shook his head. "I don't have a brother," he repeated. "I'd know it if I did. I'm not stupid, Princess."

"But--"

He cut her off. "Just drop the subject. Go to sleep, or something. We'll leave tomorrow."

"But why tomorrow?"

He seemed to hesitate. "I want…I just have something to do, alright?" With an annoyed shake of his head, he flew into the treetops, then, using the branches like they were beams, walked out of sight.

Allie sighed and closed her eyes. _He's not a nice person, or even polite, that'll never change._

_But now…I know why. At least I know._

_God, all that death…_

Despite the fact that she had just awoke, she found herself drifting back into sleep. Before she did, she head, faint and distant, a violin.

* * *

"'_Yanriizu kal'que…durrin ven reqq sae…kara na-te uaex'e_…'" Kal murmured the words under his breath, in time to his music.

'_sa'yeh, na-te tar'en, na-te deh', _Death finished, landing on a branch a few feet above Kal's head and earning a dirty glare.

"Who asked you, crow?"

_You used to sing that in your sleep, that's all. When you were younger._

Kal shot him another look and flexed his fingers. "Maybe you've heard of this thing; it's very highly coveted and even freaks like me want it: _privacy_, you kiiyen." He glanced down at the violin, and then began putting it back into its case. _I_ _can't even play anymore without someone interrupting me_. _Any longer and I'll start to get rusty_. "You had nothing better to do than spy on me in my sleep, did you?" _That, and always be turning up and cawing away when I want to be left the hell alone._

_No, not really_, Death confessed, _but, like, I said, it was when you were younger…Gods, you must have been around four or five. Hard to imagine you being so young and innocent._

"Save your reminiscing for someone who actually wants to listen, crow."

Death shrugged, an odd gesture on a bird. _You weren't so snappy back then, at least. Then, you didn't wake up in the middle of the night and decide you'd like to get into a quick fight or kill something…in fact…all you did back then, really, was…_he trailed off, and automatically flapped away to a higher branch before Kal decided he wanted to hit him.

Kal narrowed his eyes. "You were going to say 'cry', weren't you, you little feathery bastard? You wanted to say 'all you did back then was cry'."

_Um…no?_

Kal shook his head. "You like to rub it in, don't you? It's funny, isn't it, the mass-murderer crying? Hilarious…_ 'Kara na-te uaex'e, _Kalendrakk, _kara, sa kiiyen-taraken, kii-kii, kii-kii, uaex'e drakk. _Well, all you did was fly away, like a coward, then come back to pick at the kills, like a flea-bitten crow. You were a coward."

_Forget I even said anything_, Death sighed. _You're just too unstable around… this time. Why don't you go to sleep and rest? In the morning, you can drop Alison off somewhere safe…_

"Heh, _safe_. What the hell is 'safe'? Nothing's safe. _No_ where's safe, not for me or her or--"

_--and then you can leave for home early._

"'_Home_'? Since when is that deserted, ice-filled, warped, rotted cursed shack my--"

_I give up!_ Death exclaimed in exasperation. _There's no point trying to talk to you! You're as stubborn as an ox!_

Kal smiled slowly after Death had left, and flexed his fingers, working the stiffness out of them.

_Finally…now I can play my music in peace._

* * *

Allie yawned, waking up and wondering why the hell it was so cold.

"Took you long enough," Kal grumbled. "We're nearly there."

"Hmmm?" She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. "What're you talking about?"

"You're staying at that annoying brunette's house for a few days…what's her name…the short one that hit me."

"What? Mel?"

"That's right."

Allie finally opened her eyes and could see that they were flying under the low rain clouds. _So that's why I'm cold. God, in the morning, I'm so dozy…why didn't I notice it when I first woke up? Silly._ She saw that Kal, though he was shirtless, didn't even have goose bumps. _That's right, he like the cold…or something like that._

"That's great!" Allie began finger-combing out her hair. "We can get your clothes…I think we left them in her room or somewhere! And I really need a bath…and maybe we could fix your hair up!"

"_I'm_ not staying," Kal told her. "I have…plans."

"What plans?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Probably not." She dug into her bag, which was now showing considerable signs of wear, and dug out her hairbrush. "I probably look horrible…do I look horrible?"

"You look like a disgusting, repulsive human Princess, as always."

Stung, she elbowed him in the stomach (avoiding what looked like a recently-scabbed over bullet wound) and tried brushing out the worst of the snarls and knots. "I don't know why I even bother."

"That makes two of us, Princess." He shifted her in his arms, and she dropped the brush.

"Oh, nice going! What if that falls on someone? They could get hurt! And that was my favorite hairbrush! Do you know how much that thing was _worth?_"

Kal grumbled and shook is head. "Ranting this early in the morning? What if I were to get fed up with that, and let you follow after your brush?"

"Like you would actually do that."

"Do you want to find out?"

"No." She crossed her arms and pouted. "I'll borrow one of Mel's." She yawned again and turned her face out of the wind, but that meant she had to stare at Kal. _Oh, well. Win/lose situation, I guess._ "You never said where you got all of those scars, did you?"

"Not that I remember." He favored her with an irritated glance. "I thought it was obvious."

"No, not really. So…where did you get them all?"

Kal dipped his wings and they were suddenly flying down. "Why don't we save that for another time? And understand that when I say 'another time', I mean probably never." He landed hard at the gates of Mel's manor, jarring Allie and making her teeth clatter. The guards at the gate rushed to them and raised their muskets.

"Jeff! Matt!" Allie yelled, waving her hand and squirming out of Kal's arms. "It's me, Allie! And it's alright, he's my friend!" _Hm, I think I just got a sense of déja-vu right now…_

"Mademoiselle Alison! Welcome back!" Jeff opened the gates after setting down his musket. Matt did the same. "You've been gone for quite a while."

"Yes, I guess I have. Mel's here, right?"

"Up in her room, I think, with Mademoiselle Kelly and Messieurs Keith and Jordan," Matt said.

"Thank you." Allie gestured Ka to follow her, but he lingered at the gates.

"I'd rather cut off my right hand."

She glared at him and responded telepathically _Kalendrakk Raee, you're coming with me, and you're going to say "hello" to my friends, whether you want to or not._

**_-bitch-_** he cursed, but walked behind her nonetheless.

* * *

"Mel! Kelly!" Allie squealed, tackling both of them in excitement.

Jordan crossed his arms and pretended to pout. "What, no hugs for us? What are we, chopped liver?"

Allie giggled and released Kelly and Mel. "I missed you all so much!"

"Then why didn't you write us?" Mel asked pointedly, after Allie had finished her hugs.

"Oh…oh, oops!" She blushed and sat down in a free chair. "I forgot all about that! I was so busy, just last month, and…I forgot."

"Can I go now?" Kal grumbled. Everyone looked up, al surprised (minus Allie) to see him leaning against the doorframe and scowling.

"Hey, you're still with _him_?" Kelly asked.

"Where else would I have been?" Kelly didn't answer, but shrugged.

"I don't know." But Allie caught something that sounded like a whisper…but inside her head.

_With your senses_, _wherever they went._

_Did I just read Kelly's thoughts?_

"Well, we're still…traveling," Allie told them, choosing the first word that came to mind, "but we're stopping here for a bit."

"_You're_ stopping here for a bit," Kal corrected her. "I have plans."

Keith adjusted his glasses in his usual, familiar way. "Really? What are you doing?"

"That's none of your business, kiiyen drose-t're."

"What?" Keith frowned. "What did you just call me?"

"You don't want to know," Allie and Kal said at the same time, drawing a laugh from her group. Kal just grumbled to himself and sat down.

"So, tell me…what have you all been doing the past month-and-a-half?"

Kelly grinned impishly. "Do you have a few hours to spare?"

Kal protested loudly, and Allie grinned back. "We have all the time in the world…and please, take your time." She flashed Kal a grin similar to Kelly's. "And don't leave out any details…"


	29. Chapter 28

A/N: Only one more day 'till July the Thirteenth! Ooooohhh…the SUSPENSE! What's even more suspenseful is to wait for Kal and Allie to get hooked up….and I think that will be drawn out, long and painful. They may not even get hooked up in this story…OR WILL THEY?  
(I really have no idea…still deciding.)

Random quote-"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up."  
-- Paul Keating

(Now who does that remind you of?)

* * *

Allie reclined in the bathtub, feeling what seemed like years of road-dirt, dust, and mud finally leave. Her hair was wet and clean, wound up into a bun of the top of her head. She had trimmed a few inches off of it herself, and was considering doing the same to Kal. After, of course, he had washed up properly. She had no idea how he could stand being covered with dry blood; she'd go insane.

Kal, at the moment, was sitting in the room that she'd be staying in for her visit. He'd also be in the same room. Her friend's mind had automatically jumped to conclusions, even after she had explained to them she didn't want him sneaking off in the middle of the night and getting into trouble. Or, to put it simply, going on a completely unnecessary rampage and killing people.

She wrapped a towel around herself and stepped out of the tub.

That's when she noticed the most terrifying, ugliest spider on the wall. She squealed and backed up; she _hated_ spiders!

The bathroom door banged open. "Wha the hell are you yelling about?" Kal grumbled.

That made her more flustered. "Kal! I'm not wearing anything!"

He rolled his eyes. "You're wearing a towel, idiot. Besides, like I really care."

"Get out!" she shrieked, and grabbed the closest object she could get her hands on (which happened to be a silver-backed hairbrush) and pegged it at him. It hit him dead center, in his purple eye.

"_Ow!_ You stupid little--"

"Allie, is something wrong? Kelly sent me over to--" Keith stopped in the doorway and turned beat-red. "Oh…"

"Just get out! Everybody!"

"Right, of course. I'm so sorry." Keith stammered, and backed out quickly. Kal slammed to door behind him, mumbling under his breath.

That left Allie alone…with the spider.

She picked up the brush and pointed it at it. "Now, look here. I'm going to get dressed, then leave. _You_ will stay put. Understood?"

She dressed quickly, in one of Mel's dresses (hers were being washed), keeping one eye on the creature all the while. By the time she had braided her hair, it had crawled onto the ceiling.

Kal was sitting in a chair when she came out, his left eye looking a little swollen. "Kiiyen drose-t're."

"You deserved it, pervert."

"Why the hell does it make a difference if you're wearing a towel or a dress?"

"Because…it just does! It's _improper_."

"Like I give a damn about propriety," he scoffed. "And what about you? It's supposed to be improper for perfect little Princesses to run off with vagabonds, isn't it? I wonder what your friends would think if I just _happened_ to mention your little Gypsy boyfriend, Sparrow?"

"His name is Robin!" she snapped. "And he doesn't even like me anymore, thanks to _you_!"

"But you still like him, don't you?"

"No…well…maybe just a—wait, why am I telling _you_ this? And why does it matter to you anyways?"

"It doesn't." he gave a wide grin. "I just like getting a rise out of you—you're so _easy_ to annoy."

"And what about you?" she countered. "'I'm Kalendrakk! I hate humans! I'm so evil; I can't go one day without killing something! I act tough, but really, I break down the second someone mentions my mother Torelie, or my father Xeth, or Ka--" Before she could blink, Kal had slammed her up against the wall, pinning her by her throat with his forearm.

"Don't you _dare_," he growled through his clenched teeth "say their names again." Even as he cut her air off bit by bit, she could see a mirror-image bruise spreading across his own throat, made more visible by his human illusion. "Don't…say…" he gasped for air. While she was only just starting to feel short of breath, it looked as if he was the one being strangled. After a moment of struggling to breath, he dropped his arm and let her go.

"_If I try to harm her in any way, the injury will instead be inflicted oppositely on me. It's part of what you may call a bargain we made."_

"You realize that only backs up what I was saying," she pointed out as he caught his breath.

"Yeah, go ahead and gloat, you blonde-headed bitch." He turned his back to her. "Fine. I get the point. We both have our ticks. Now when can I leave?"

"No way am I going to let you run off. You're staying right here, where I can keep an eye on you. I still haven't forgotten what you did when Robin turned you into those--" Allie realized what she was saying and tried to backtrack. "I mean, when you broke out of jail and killed those--"

"Do you mean to say," he said, glaring at her. "That that stupid, insignificant _sparrow_ tipped off those police?"

"Um…no?"

"Oh, that's just perfect. I swear, the second I get my hands on that bastard, he's gonna pay!"

"What do you have against him, anyways?" she asked, trying to distract him. "What, are you jealous of him or something?"

"And why would I be jealous?"

"Well…because I like him. A lot. And I don't really like…well, you know, _you_."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to say that I'm jealous of him? Because you two were in a relationship that lasted, what, a few days?" He shook his head in exasperation when she nodded. "You arrogant, arrogant Princess…do you think that every male just swoons away when he sees you?"

"No…" _Although, she _thought_, that would be kind of nice._

"And you thought that I actually opened the bathroom door to try and see your _legs_? Use that pathetic brain of yours! You screamed, idiot, and it's my job to protect you…as much as I'm regretting it." He narrowed his eyes. "And, did you honestly forget that I don't have those emotions?"

"Well, sort of," she admitted.

"Kiiyen," he muttered, then went and sat down in a chair in the far corner of the room. "I'm going to sit here until you take your stupid command off. If you're not completely stupid, you will before tomorrow."

Allie pulled a blank at what was so special about tomorrow. Before she could remember, there was a knock on the door. "Come in!"

Mel walked in. "What was the problem with Kal?"

"Oh, you heard about that?"

"You practically gave Keith a heart attack. You know he gets easily embarrassed."

"You think it's embarrassing for _him _to be walked in on?"

"Point taken," she admitted. "Now what did _he_ do?" She pointed at Kal, who growled at her like he was some type of dog.

"It was nothing…I saw a spider and got startled, that's all. He just wanted to see if I was alright…apparently."

Mel looked unconvinced. "It's almost lunch. Are you hungry?"

"Starving!"

"Not hungry," Kal called over form is corner.

"Hey, while we eat, would it be possible for one of the servants to draw him a bath and put out some clothes for him?"

Kal protested (loudly), but Mel nodded. "Sure. You left the clothes Kelly bought for him here, by the way."

"Perfect! Then everything will fit him."

Kal crossed his arms stubbornly. "When it snows in hell."

"Kalendrakk Raee…"

* * *

"Stupid, idiotic, arrogant little Princess." Kal scrubbed the dirt and blood from his skin and hair. Why were human so obsessed about appearance, anyways? Did the Princess really care if his hair was a little messy, or did she just want to torture him? "'Kalendrakk Raee, wash up, and brush your hair while you're at it, too.' Doesn't that _kiiyen_ even realize that it'll get messy again within the week, and I'll just get dirty with blood and dirt anyways? Humans…no logic. None whatsoever." And, since he couldn't disobey her orders (if he could he'd already be on his way to North America), he finished washing, and dried himself off, glaring at the clothes the terrified servant had all but thrown over a chair before running away.

Kal quickly ran the brush through his tangled hair, not wincing when the brush snagged on more than one knot. By the time he was done, his patience had waned considerably (not that there was much of it anyways). "Oh, just you wait, Princess," he muttered, pulling on his clothes. "I'm going get you back for this. Just wait, and one night, you'll wake up in the middle of a forest in the middle of no where, or…with a lot of spiders in your bed. Or maybe six feet under the ground…or something." He shoved his feet into a pair of black shoes and realized he didn't know how to tie them. He couldn't; remember the last time he had even bothered to try to tie up laces, so he left them loose.

"I look like a human," he said aloud to himself, looking down at his clothes. Black pants and a black shirt, that was fine, he didn't mind black clothes. He liked them, actually. But the neat, expensive clothes combined with his illusion… Kal removed his human illusion. Better.

"Not any point in it at all," he muttered. "But at least…maybe if I act normal, she'll let me leave by tomorrow." He flexed his fingers and opened the door.

_If not…well, it won't be my fault if everybody dies._

* * *

"So…am I going to be the one to have to ask?" Jordan looked from face to face.

Allie didn't like the look he had in is eyes. "Ask what?"

Jordan raised an eyebrow and gestured to Kal with his glass. "Well, you and him. We've all been dying to now how far you two are in your relationship. And just let me get this out in the open: if you're planning on having children, I don't think they'd look very normal."

Kal had also been holding a glass of wine, half-full. With a murderous glare at Jordan, he swallowed the rest. Allie had ordered him not to go roaming about.

Allie shook her head in exasperation. "For the umpteenth time, Kal and I are _not_ a couple! Give it a rest!"

Mel rolled her eyes. "If that's true, then why're you spending so much time with him?"

Allie shrugged. "I don't know…but I don't really have a home, and I don't have anything else better to do."

"Then why don't you stay here?" Kelly suggested. "We miss you, Alls."

Me; nodded, immediately liking the idea. "There are tons of spare rooms. Or, if you don't want to, you could stay at Kelly's."

"Well…I'm not planning on living with my parents for much longer," Kelly said hesitantly. She glanced over at Keith, who nodded slightly. "We haven't told anyone yet, because you know how my mother exaggerates things, but--"

"Oh my _God_!" Allie half-screamed. "You two are getting _engaged_!"

Keith blushed. "As soon as I find a nice ring."

Mel grinned. "This is so great! And, another reason for Allie to stay…right, Alls?"

Kal glowered at Allie, not excited in the least about Kelly and Keith. "No one is going to ask my opinion, I take it?"

"Fine. What's_ your_ opinion?"

"You stay here and out of trouble so I can go off by myself."

"You sure about that?" Allie asked. It didn't seem like such a bad idea…and everyone else seemed to like it, too. Maybe Kelly and Mel a bit much.

He tapped his fingers restlessly against the table. "Do you honestly think that I'd want to stay here?"

"No, not really."

"Let's vote to make it official, then," Mel suggested. "All in favor of Kal's plan raise your hand."

The vote was unanimous.

"On one condition, though." Allie sent yet another command mentally. _Kalendrakk Raee, you are not allowed under any circumstances to kill anyone._

_**-have I mentioned today how much I hate you, you blonde trollop?-**_

_Oh, grow _up_, Kalendrakk._

Everyone was waiting to hear what the condition was; they obviously couldn't have heard Allie's message.

"What?" Jordan finally asked.

"Uh…never mind."

"Can I go, then?" Kal was sitting on the edge of his chair.

"In a minute." She turned to her friends. "I need to go upstairs for a moment; there's something I need to give Kal."

"What? A kiss good-bye?" Jordan suggested jokingly. She kicked him under the table. "Ow!"

"Keep dreaming," she told him. "Come on, Kal."

"Yeah, yeah. 'Come on, Kal, good doggy'," he muttered sarcastically.

* * *

He watched as she dug through her bag. "I know it's in here somewhere!"

"What is?"

She sighed and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Mina, from the BlackRose Inn, she showed me how to put a protection spell on an object. I put it on a necklace chain…and I just know it's somewhere at the bottom of this bag!"

"So?"

Allie trued around and gave him a look that clearly said she thought he was a bit slow in the upper works. "Well, I thought you could try it out for me, and see if it works right!"

"Why don't _you_ do that?" _And, before you do…let me _go_, already!_

"Because I'm not as _nearly_ likely to get into a fight as you are," she said in a matter-of-fact way. "And besides, I'll be under a roof for the next little while, with no chance of running into demons. You, on the other hand…" She went back to digging through her bag. "I'm staring to think you go looking to get into fights." She turned her bag upside down. An assortment of items fell out; a comb; a handful of hair ribbons; her swords and daggers; a comb; a blanket; and a tiny, bronze dagger that Kal didn't recognize. Familiar runes were set into the hilt with wire, also bronze. He took a step forward and bent over her shoulder to try and get a better look at the runes.

"Where did you get that?"

Allie jumped; she probably hadn't heard him come up behind her. "I don't know." She stood up and turned around to face him. "I have no idea how it got into my…what's the face for?"

Kal resisted the urge to double over; a hot, painful fire seemed to be spreading out from his side. "You_ klutz_!"

The dagger had been unsheathed. When she turned around, he had been too close, and she had, accidentally or not, stabbed him with it.

"Oh! Sorry." She made a face and pulled it out. "Oh, _ew_."

Kal clamper his hand over the wound to try and stop the bleeding; with his free hand, he snatched the dagger from her and examined the runes around the hilt. They were for a combination of magic and, as far as he could tell, death. At the bottom, there was his name, Kalendrakk. The blade itself was what he didn't like; it reeked of poison, and something vaguely familiar…it took his a moment to place it. It was Allie's magic. Her magic, mixed in with poison…just like the dart with which Jessica and her soldiers had tried to kill him with before. But the mixture was so much stronger, this time…

"Kal? Are you alright?"

He shoved past her and hurried into the bathroom, the contents of his mostly-empty stomach fighting to rise up.

* * *

"Kal! Are you alright?" She tired the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge. From the other side came loud retching sounds. _What did that dagger _do_ to him?_ _ And where in the world did it come from? I don't remember ever putting it in my bag…_ "Kal!" she tried to pen the door, and this time it opened. _Oh. I guess it was just stuck the first time._ She blinked in surprise. Kal was bent over the sink. He had thrown up...but it was mostly blood. Not that that was any better. But Kal…

…his skin was _grey_.

"What _happened_?"

His head snapped around. "I'll tell you what _happened_," he snarled. "You stabbed me with a poisoned dagger, that's what _happened_."

"I'm sorry, I didn't--"

He narrowed his eyes. "You'll be very lucky if I don't die…because if I do, I'll take you with me before I breathe my last."

She edged backwards, genuinely frightened. "Kal, I really didn't do that on purpose."

He bent over the sink and vomited a mixture of blood and…something. His hair, now clean for once, fell over his face, hiding it for a moment.

_Why is he grey?_ she wondered. But she suddenly knew, without having to ask. Humans turned sometimes pale when they were ill. Their skin seemed to turn almost ashen. Kal's skin was blacker than any human's; his turned grey. The only color he had, really, was his one purple eye, and the blood from his recent wound. The bleeding already had slowed.

Kal's hands tightened on the sides of the sink, and she realized that he was holding himself up only by that. Allie stepped forward and offered a hand for support; he growled and slapped it away, and in doing so, lost his grip and fell onto his knees.

"Kal, are you--"

"Shut up and leave me alone."

"But--"

"What, do you want to finish off the job?" he snapped. "Decided to slit my throat instead? Or maybe you want to plant Jessica's dagger in my _back!_"

"Jessica's? What are you talking about?"

"I know she touched it, I can _smell_ her! And who else could make that particular poison?" He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, and looked at the blood it left in mild surprise. "Why did you agree to help her? Why the hell did you become another one of her assassins?"

"I didn't!" Allie protested. "I have _no idea_ how that dagger got into my belongings in the first place!"

Kal looked at her as if he hadn't heard any of what she said, his eyes unfocused. A thin sheen of sweat had broken out over his face.

_Just how fast is that poison working? _She panicked. _And what if it was like last time he was poisoned? What then? Does he take more life—life—_whatever_ the hell it was from me? _

_What if he actually _dies_ this time?_

Kal's eyes rolled up to the white (that were, in his case, red), and fell backwards, hitting his head off of the hard marble floor, but giving no sign of having felt it.

"Mel!" she shouted. "Kelly, Keith, Jordan! I need some help!"


	30. Chapter 29

A/N: (dramatic music)

"Killing is like opium, Nadir... it's a bad habit... an addiction..."

-"Phantom", Susan Kay

* * *

"…_what?" "Don't touch…you'll burn…" "Alls, what…" "...the bleeding's stopped…" "…he looks sick, Alls." "…I know…" "…doctor?" "…could try. Keith, would you…?" "Oh, he's awake."_

Kal bolted up in bed and edged away from the people surrounding him until he was backed up against the wall. All it earned him was a fresh wave of nausea.

"Kal, just relax," Allie said. She and her two other friends were there; the boys had left.

"Nam, ke'kii lin," he grumbled, not realizing that he hadn't spoken in French. His mouth was dry and his lips felt glued together. There was a red-hot dagger in his head and snakes in his stomach, and his heart was filled with nails and glass. Someone had taken his shirt off; the wound was small and the blood had congealed; but the following day, it would be scabbed over. And yet it seemed to burn, as if someone had set a small fire, using the sticky blood as oil.

"What?" Mel looked at Allie. "What did he say?"

"He said he's fine." Allie frowned and shook her head. "Don't ask how I know. I have no idea how I know that…"

Kal needed the spot over his heart with a hand, as if that would make the pain go away. "Kiiyen drose-t're."

It was Kelly's turn this time to ask. "What was that?"

"You don't want to know."

Kal glared at them. "Leave me alone, all of you, before I kill someone. I'm not joking."

"Keith just went to get a doctor. Jordan went with him," Allie told him. "You're going to stay put until they come back. And you won't kill anyone."

"Like hell I won't." But as much as he hated to admit it, he most likely wasn't going to be moving from the bed. He hurt too goddamned much, and for the first time he could remember, he was sick. _ I don't think I'd be able to take a few steps on my own...how the hell will I fly across the ocean to North America?_

"Kal, put your illusions on. Please." Allie was looking at the door. "I think Keith and Jordon got the doctor, and I'm not sure he'll help you if you look like…well, you."

Kal shrugged. "Like I really care. A human doctor's not going to be able to do much anyways." But he obeyed nonetheless; one less thing that he had to deal with.

Allie was right; a moment later, the two boys walked in, followed by the doctor. He was a small, slightly built man that Kal probably could have snapped in half like a piece of kindling. His hair was white and thinning and was slicked back neatly from his face. In one hand he held a large black bag.

"I'll have to ask everyone to leave the room, please." He looked uneasy about the prospect of that, his eyes taking in Kal.

Allie offered him a broad and forced smile. "I'll stay, if that's alright." Kal caught the part she didn't say, but thought: _I don't want any more accidents happening._

He rolled his eyes. Any _more_ accidents? _She should just admit she stabbed me and get it over with._

Allie caught his look and narrowed her eyes. _Not now, Kal_._ You can argue about that later on, if you want._

_**-oh, really? I'm overjoyed-**_

After everyone else had left the room, the doctor smiled uneasily at Kal. "I'm Dr. Murrel. What seems to be the problem, Monsieur, erm…?"

Kal gave him his entire first name. It seemed to suit him at the moment. "Kalendrakk."

"He's been poisoned," Allie told the doctor hastily, before Kal could decide to add on any unpleasentries. "I don't know with what."

Dr. Murrel nodded, as if this thing happened everyday. "Alright. Have you been feeling any dizziness?"

"Let me see," Kal drawled. "Do you mean before or after I fainted?"

Allie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, he has. I think a minute or so after I—after he was poisoned."

The doctor re-directed his attention to Allie; she was less intimidating than Kal, at least. And much more the type he was used to working with; the type being "normal". "Anything else?"

"Vomiting, erm, internal bleeding, the fainting and he feels kind of drained right now-"

"How do you know how I'm feeling?" he interrupted, angry at himself. The usual barrier he kept between him and her must not be strong enough. He tried to focus on fixing that, but it slipped away like water.

"Kal, don't interrupt me. And," she went back to addressing the doctor "he also has a, well, it's kind of a heart problem…I don't know how it might affect him after being poisoned and everything…"

"What sort of heart problem?"

"It's a useless piece of crap, how's that for a problem?" he grumbled. Kal should've seen the question coming right after Allie _had_ to go and mention that…

Dr. Murrel glanced at Kal out of the corner of his eye. "Mademoiselle…?"

"Allie."

"Mlle. Allie, you seem to know a good deal about M. Kalendrakk's health issues…more than I can figure out on such short notice. Do you think a painkiller would have any harmful effects on him?"

She shrugged. "No idea. We might as well try some…it probably won't hurt him."

"I'm still in the room, you know. And I'd be up and ready to take part in my favorite pastime, if you hadn't gone and--"

Allie cut him off, rolling her eyes at the doctor. "Will the painkiller knock him out?"

He chuckled. "I'll only give him a little bit of morphine, to make him a bit more comfortable. Though it will put him to sleep, if you're wondering."

Kal swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up unsteadily. "No. No drugs and definitely nothing that will make me _sleep_. I have to be out of here by tomorrow."

Allie put a hand on his shoulder and forced him to sit down on the bed; it didn't take much force. And, hopefully, the doctor wouldn't notice the burn she left…

Dr. Murrel was absorbed in tapping the bubbles out of a syringe filled with liquid. "Just as a warning, this is a highly-addictive painkiller. I'm sure this small bit can't do much harm, but…there's always the possibility…"

"That'll be fine, Dr. Murrel." Allie flashed a warning glance at Kal, who had opened his mouth probably to say something sarcastic.

**_-you idiot! Don't you understand? Can't you read my mind, you _stupid_ girl? I have to leave by tomorrow!-_**

_Kal, this is for your own good. Just behave yourself and keep quiet. Hopefully, we'll be able to figure out what was on that dagger and make an antidote—_

_**-demon poison is untraceable, stupid. It's probably already disappeared from your dagger-**_

_It_ wasn't _my—_

"Here we are…Kalendrakk; I'll have to ask you to hold out your arm."

Kal simply gave the doctor a long, cold glare. "You even _try_ to stick me with that needle, and I'll strew your guts across the room." Even as he said it, he felt it was a hollow threat; his eyes were throbbing painfully in time with his heart, and the room was oddly fuzzy. But he was Kalendrakk, after all. Kal reminded himself of this.

He was _never_ too weak to kill.

_Kal_. Allie's voice, annoyed and clipped in his head. _Don't make me order you to do it. I will. And really, it's getting tiring._

Kal grudgingly exposed his elbow. Four or so curing scars ran down the length of his inner arm in a curving, almost graceful swoop. It had been a mountain lion, one he had run into when he had been around twelve years old. _That bitch nearly flayed me open…._ The prick of the needle as it slipped into his vein went almost unnoticed.

Dr. Murrel straightened up. "I'm afraid that's all I can do at the moment…I'm not sure about the effects morphine will have on a demon. It may not even work."

Kal could hear Allie's heart as it skipped a beat in panic. "You know?" Thoughts ran in a jumble through her head. _What if he gave im something else, will he call the authorities, he can't, can he?_

He smiled reassuringly. "No need to fret, Mlle. Allie…if I value my job, I follow the head of the manor unquestioningly…and I doubt he'd be happy if I upset one of his daughter's best friends."

"Thank you."

He slipped the empty syringe back into his bag and snapped it shut. "It's my job. I wish that I could tell you I could to something more…but he's just not human. Anything else I do might make his condition worse."

"I understand. Thanks anyways."

Kal blinked his eyes after the door shut. The edges if his vision seemed to be lined with fuzzy black velvet.

"Kal?" Allie's face swam into view. "Is the drug working? You look kind of…" She trailed off.

"Tomorrow's the thirteenth." It suddenly seemed a great effort to speak without slurring his words. "Whatever happens…you brought it on yourself."

Allie blinked. "Kal, I really don't understand what you're saying."

He heard her voice as if it was far away. His fight to keep his eyes open failed, so he let them fall shut and succumbed to the morphine in his veins.

How was Kal supposed to know, after all, that the Princess's confused face would be the last thing he saw?

* * *

"Hey, Allie." Kelly slipped in the door, holding two mugs of something steaming. With her hands full, the door fell shut behind her, but Kal didn't stir. "I brought tea."

"Thanks." Allie accepted the mug from Kelly and gestured to the chair next to her. "Are you going to stay a little bit?"

Kelly smoothed her dress under her as she sat. "Of course. I figured you were getting bored, all by yourself. Mel's getting lectured by her parents, and Keith had to go home; he promised he'd check in on his little cousin."

Allie sipped from her mug. "I can't believe you two are going to be getting married."

She blushed. "The feeling's mutual, believe me. It seems so…surreal. Like I'm in a dream."

"I know what that feels like," she said dryly. Kal turned over in his sleep; now he was facing them. His bangs stuck to his seat-soaked forehead and fell into his eyes. One arm dangled off the side of the bed, his hand made into a loose fist.

Kelly watched him, appearing troubled. "Don't you ever feel afraid?"

"What? Of Kal?" Allie scorched her tongue on the second sip and made a face. "Ow. And yes, I do. A lot of the time. He's a scary person."

"Then…why do you go with him? Aren't you scared that one day he'll just…snap?"

"He snaps a lot of the time," Allie confessed. "But I don't think he can hurt me anymore…do you remember, that day, when he showed you he can't?"

"Dimly."

"So I guess that's one of the reasons." She blew on her tea to cool it. "And, Kelly…I just…I feel sorry for him." She gestured at Kal with her mug. The hot tea sloshed out and fell on her had. "_Ow_. I mean, the man doesn't have any--"

"What're you doin' t'yourself?" Kal cracked his eyes halfway open.

"Nothing. Just go back to sleep, Kal."

"What day's it?"

"It's still the twelfth."

Kal mumbled something unintelligible and closed his eyes. His breathing was shallow, but at least he still was breathing. They both watched him for a while before Allie resumed the conversation.

"As I was saying," she continued, "he doesn't have any friends, really, except for that raven. And Death—that's the raven—and Kal are usually fighting about something or another."

"So…you're going with him because you pity him?" Kelly asked dubiously.

Allie shrugged. "Partly. And I think…maybe if he's always around someone normal, he might get used to that, and maybe I could rub off on him a bit." She frowned and fiddled with the handle of her mug. "I mean…he's pretty bad, Kelly. He kills for the fun of it, and he likes to kill…but no one can be completely evil all of the time, right? Kal _can_ be nice, sometimes."

Kelly nodded. "Well…it's your choice. I suppose I'll just have to trust your judgment about…" She waved a hand at Kal.

"Hey, don't be so down. I'll be here for a while longer yet. There's no way I would miss your wedding."

Kelly smiled and stood up. "I think I'll go and rescue Mel from her parents."

"Are they upset about Kal being here?"

"'Upset' is an understatement, Alls."

After Kelly left, closing the door quietly behind her this time, Death came tapping on the window. Allie got up and opened it for him. "Haven't seen you in a while."

Death flapped over to the bed. _What's the matter?_

"'Bonjour' to you, too." Allie returned to her seat and left the window open. The room could use a little fresh air. "And to answer your question…I kind of accidentally stabbed him with a poisoned dagger. I have no idea how that dagger got in my bag, let me just get that in the open."

_May I see it?_

"It's on my bag, over there."

A flutter of black wing and he was perched next to it, craning his neck to the side in that way birds do when they're looking at something. _Jessica, _Death hissed_. What in the world did you do?_

"Jessica?" Allie set her tea down on a table; she had decided to wait until it had cooled down more to avoid further injuries. "That woman with the yellow eyes?"

Death shook his head. _Never you mind, Alison. It's best if you don't get wrapped up in that particular feud._

"And why is that?"

_Just trust me. _

"Alright, alright."

_Alison, you do realize what you've done…don't you?_ Death's voice was a long sigh in her head.

"It was an accident, I swear!"

_I believe you, Alison._ Death turned his head toward Kal, sleeping away obliviously. _Those demons are incredibly skilled with concocting poisons. On Kal, it's useless…without your magic. They used your magic in the poison…don't ask me how. I don't know. But that, along with the fact that it was you who stabbed him, accidentally or not…it may be enough to kill him._

"_What?"_ Allie felt her mouth drop. "But I never meant to do that! Sure, he's kind of cruel at times, but I don't want him to _die_!"

_I'm not sure it matters_. _I'm sorry, but—_

"I remember some of the healing magic the demons at the BlackRose in taught me." Allie knelt by the bed. "I'll use that. I won't become a murderer," she said fiercely. "I _won't_."

_Allie, wait, I'm not sure that will work! Your magic—_

But Allie had already begun her work; a whitish-blue light was glowing in between her hands. _Please make this work_, she prayed silently, and placed one hand on Kal's wound, and the other over his heart. She murmured the incantation. The light around her hands became brighter, then developed into the same lightning-flash she had seen the night Jake died. Her hands felt as if they were branded to Kal—she wasn't sure she could pull away if she wanted to.

And then, suddenly, she was no longer in the room.

* * *

Allie's eyes widened as the Kal's mental barrier dissolved completely, but she felt as if she were no longer in her body.

She saw everything both as he'd seen it and from her own view: the aftermath of the slaughter, the death of his foster-mother, all of the fights, all of the battles and countless wounds. She saw the clouds whip by, thousands of feet above the ground; the snowy mountains, the ocean. And she saw into his own mind.

Kal thought his magic was stunted. It wasn't. His was even more powerful than hers, dozens of times more powerful. He thought he couldn't feel certain emotions, because he was evil, but there was a greater reason.

Kal's magic was stunted because, ever since he was six years old, he had subconsciously used it to block out nearly all of his emotions, and every feeling connected to his family, to the slaughter, to Karen. His magic was so powerful that it blocked out nearly everything related to those things…except even the strongest magic has a limit…that's why, every year (for him, the thirteenth of July), it began to wear away and break down. That was why he lost nearly all coherent thought, why he was in so much pain, on that day. And then she came along, and her magic repelled his, like a magnet…the blocked memories and emotions seeped though his magical amnesia more and more frequently.

All except one. The one memory, the memory of his older brother, Drel. He wouldn't even remember Drel without the magic; he was very young, and Drel was never around as much as Karay.

But Kal's forgotten brother wasn't the problem right now…Kal was. Allie forced herself back to reality and yanked her hands back using all of her weight.

There were no burns in the shape of her hands on his body, no sign that she had touched him. But his breathing had evened out, deepened. Even his skin was darkening, from ashen-gray to black. She could see his aura, light moving around his body. But, unlike the other time she had seen it, it wasn't black. Not completely. It was a dark shade of purple, with only a few barely-noticeable streaks of black. Her own seemed to flow around her hands; it too had become purple. Then she blinked and they were gone.

_Alison…do you realize what you did?_ Death breathed in awe.

"I think so." She touched her face and realized she was crying. "Death…in auras, what does purple stand for?"

_If my memory serves me right…protection. I think it means the person had something to protect…I'm probably wrong, though._

"Protection," she echoed.

_You saved Kal's life,_ Death said, _but I think that worse is coming._

As if to underscore this, a clock somewhere chimed midnight.


	31. Chapter 30

A/N: DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN! Oh noes! It's the thirteenth! OMIGAWD THE BIRDS ARE COMINNNNNGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(I had too much coffee….wheeeeeeeeee!)

"Evil is a point of view. God kills indiscriminately and so shall we. For no creatures under God are as we are, none so like him as ourselves."

-Lestat, Interview with the Vampire

* * *

Kal's eyes were open, but he could not see. He opened them wider and turned his head, trying to catch any bit of light. He must have moved somewhere in his sleep; perhaps he had rolled under his parent's bed. "Borii? Borru?" he called out tentatively. But something was wrong with his voice…it didn't sound right. It sounded very wrong. It was much too deep and rough and grating to be _his_ voice…was he dreaming?

"It's alright, Kal." A girl's voice; strange and foreign. It was speaking in a language he had never heard…and yet he understood it.

Kal sat up; no, he wasn't under the bed. "Who are you?" he asked in his language, with his strange voice. "What's wrong with me? Why can't I see?"

"Kal, it's me, Allie. " A pause. "You can't see?"

_Allie…Allie…_

_The Princess. I'm not three, I'm twenty, now. It's not 1867, it's 1872…mother and father, they're dead…I'm poisoned._

"What's happening?" Kal recognized his own voice, now, and the Princess's. "What day is it?"

"It's the thirteenth." From the sound of her voice, she was sitting next to him. "Kal, are you alright?"

"Turn on a damned light. It's too dark; even I can't see."

"Kal, what are you talking about? The entire room is lit."

He lifted his hands and brought them to his face; nothing. Everything was black. "I've gone blind. I'm blind. How the _fucking_ hell am I _blind?_" Kal felt his heart triple in pace, racing in his ears. A bird's heartbeat; a panicked heartbeat.

"Kal, calm down!" Her hand on his bare shoulder; it burned through his skin. He jerked away.

"Oh God, I'm blind, I can't see. I can't _see_!" He half-shouted, lapsing into his own tongue. "_Sa'ra tahnae, kii soqeh renthuu qyi!"_ He felt his body trembling. Then there was a pressure next to him: Allie sitting down on the bed. Suddenly her arms were around him, holding his arms to his gently to his side.

"Calm down, Kal. If you don't stop, you'll end up hurting yourself, so just calm down," she said softly, soothingly. He sat in stunned silence for a moment, still shivering. Then his panic was replaced by hurt anger.

"How _dare _you tell me to calm down?" he hissed, and then shoved her away. He used to much force; he heard her fly halfway across the room and land painfully on the floor. He felt a similar pain race up his right arm and side. "You were the one that caused this. You blinded me, you little bitch!" Nothing but scared silence from Allie. He went on. "You _bitch._ _I_ spared your life; I _saved_ it, more than once, you ungrateful little brat! Is this how you repay your debt, you ingrate? You take away my eyes! Well, just see if I don't take away your life! It belongs to me; your life is in _my_ hands, and I'll see to it that it goes out, just like a little candle flame. That's how insignificant you are to me: nothing but a worthless little candle flame." He swung his legs off the bed and stood, felling the sold floor beneath him; he was connected to it only by touch. He walked towards Allie, locating her by her breathing and her rapid heartbeat. "A candle flame," he repeated. "Gone in one small breath." Kal stopped; he knew she was right in front of him now, too stunned to get off of the floor. "That's all it will take to end your life: so fragile, so simple. Gone in a breath. You will be dead before you can scream." She was crying but trying not to.

"I saved your life, too," she choked out. "I did that more than once. You'd be dead if it weren't for me."

His booted foot connected with her leg; he felt a jolt of pain, above his knee. "Shut up, _Princess_. Your fate is to kill me; my fate is to kill. And I don't care if I have to go right up to death's door to do it: I'll be the breath that extinguishes your flame of life."

"Kalendrakk Raee I command you not to kill me!" Allie said it all in one breath.

Kal smiled. "Oh, that won't work on me tonight, Princess."

She dissolved into muffled sobs. _She must have her hand over her mouth. Oh…doesn't want to call for help, does she? No, too afraid for her friends. They're also candle flames. I'll have to kill them after I've finished with her._

"Kal, please don't do this," she cried. "Please don't. You're not completely evil, I know you aren't. _Please_."

He knelt down next to her and wrapped his fingers around her throat. He could feel the rapid pulse of her heartbeat against his palm. "Goodbye, Princess."

A door banged open behind them. "Allie!" It was Mel. "I heard--" Kal heard her sharp intake of breath. "Get away from her!"

Kal turned his head in the direction f her voice and smiled. "Shut up and wait your turn."

"Mel, don't!" Allie's voice vibrated through his hand. "Don't move!"

"He's going to kill you!"

"No, he won't."

"You're _crazy!_" He heard Mel approach them and stop. Kal sensed something enclose them in an orb; Allie's magic. She had conjured a shield of magical energy around them.

"Kal, listen to me," Allie said quietly, gaining control of her crying. "I know that you have _some_ good in you. Your magic has just been locking it away, but now it isn't. Just take your hand back."

"You're lying." He curled his fingers, his claws pricking through her soft skin. Just a little more pressure would be all it took. "You're not going to change my mind, so why don't you die quietly?"

"Kal, don't do this. You'll die too."

"Maybe, maybe not."

Kal heard her draw a deep, shuddering breath and let it out. Then she opened her mouth and, instead of pleading… "_Yanriizu kal'que…durrin ven reqq sae," _she sang in a voice just above a whisper. How could she know that song? "_...kara na-te uaex'e_…" He tightened his fingers around her throat; blood ran down in crimson rivulets. Allie stuttered, then finished. "..._sa'yeh, na-te tar'en, na-te deh." _ There was something hot on his face, striping his cheeks.

"I should kill you," he whispered. "It would be so, so easy…"

"That doesn't mean you have to, Kal." She put her hand over his that was circling her throat. "I could have killed you just as easily, but I didn't. You owe me that, if nothing else."

"I'm not you. And I don't owe you_ anything_." Something salty was trickling into his mouth. "I don't owe you anything," he repeated, but his words came out wrong; his throat felt as if it were contracting.

Slowly, he relaxed his hand. Allie breathed more freely, but she didn't move a muscle; she was afraid to. Kal pulled his hand away from hers and fell on his knees, his head relaxing until it hung over his chest. He felt the magic around them disappear and pull back into Allie's body. Mel was immediately at her friend's side, pulling her away.

Well, trying to. "Come on, hurry!"

"It's alright, Mel. He won't hurt me anymore."

"Are you insane, Allie? You're _bleeding_! That freak almost slit your throat!"

"Mel, you have to trust me."

Mel raised her voice. "_Guards!_"

Kal sat motionlessly throughout the yelling, that strange salty water leaking out of his eyes to drip on his chest. A different emotion was controlling his body now, the one he hated the most: sorrow and remorse. "Alison."

"It's alright. I know that you're not yourself."

"Allie, don't do that!"

Kal sensed Allie in front of him. "All you have to do is keep your head until tomorrow, Kal. I'll stay right here the entire time."

"I nearly killed you. I was a second away from opening your throat." His shoulders slumped forward further as he edged away from her. "I still want to kill you."

"I trust that you won't, though." Allie brought her arms around his shoulders and hugged him to her chest. "And I really don't think that you want to, anymore."

"Allie, what are you _doing_?"

"Mel, just trust me on this. It'll be fine."

Kal's head rested on her shoulder. From the sound of her heartbeat, she was still terrified…but she still held onto him. He allowed himself to relax against her, and closed his eyes to try and stop the flow of his tears; still, they leaked through his lids. "I _am_ sorry."

"It's fine, I'll be alright." He felt her crane her head in the direction of the door. "You can leave, you four. I'm safe with him; you might not be." Three guards and Mel; he heard their separate heartbeats and their breaths; he smelled their scents and their fear.

"Allie," Mel pleaded. "Think about what you're _doing._"

"I already did, and I'll be fine. Really, Mel." Allie replaced the shield she had used beforehand around her and Kal. "I won't be moving for a while. You might want to get some sleep for yourself."

Kal drifted off during the rest of the conversation; their voices all blurred into one. He realized, distantly, at how odd a picture they made, him with his head on her shoulder, Kalendrakk, eyes leaking, and Allie holding him. One of the most hated demons in the world crying into the shoulder of the young woman who was destined to kill him.

A very odd picture.

_Kal?_

_**-hm?-**_

_Are you feeling any better?_

_**-…is that a rhetorical question?-**_

_Sorry._

_**-…I'm tired and I hurt all over…I'm not dying, though…-**_

_Well, good._

_**-Alison?-**_

_What?_

_**-thank you-**_

* * *

Allie's legs had fallen asleep a while ago; now they were completely numb. Carefully, she tried stretching them out without moving Kal. He looked as if he was asleep, but every now and then he would begin to talk rapidly in his own language, so quickly that she only caught a few odd words. And along with him talking, she would get brief flashes of memories, crystal-clear pieces of different events and places in her head. All the while, she felt a steady, deep ache in her heart. She knew on some level that it was really Kal's heart that was hurting, and it was filtering through their link to her own. It seemed as if, with all of his barriers down, they were connected more closely than before. It was a very…_alien_ feeling, not being alone in her head.

"…stop…swear I'll kill you," Kal said suddenly. "…I didn't do it, so stop it…"

Allie tightened her hold on him. "Shh, Kal, everything's fine."

Kal fell silent for a long while, then stiffened suddenly. "_Rehniika yanziiru_," he hissed. "Raven demon, here, _Rehniika yanziiru_." He put his arms on her shoulder and pushed himself away. His face was damp with tears that made his black skin glimmer in the light. His eyes focused on a spot not too far from hers, but she knew he saw nothing. "He's here…another Raven demon…they all didn't die. Another, other than me."

"Are you sure?" she asked slowly, not sure whether or not he was still in his right mind.

Kal blinked, and touched her head. He wasn't lying; she was suddenly Kal, and she could smell the other Raven demon. And then she was back in her own body, sitting next to Kal. He stood unsteadily.

"Jessica planned this," he murmured. "The other _Rehniika _has come to kill me. Not here…a field, somewhere near…"

"Well, you aren't really going to go," Allie scoffed; then added uncertainly "You aren't, are you? You're barely even able to stand. And you're sick." As she said it, Kal swayed unsteadily on his feet and braced his hand on her shoulder before he fell.

"I am going to meet him," he told her. "I need to see him…I have a feeling…like I should _know_ him."

Allie stood. "I'll come with you. But…you won't fight him, will you?"

Kal closed his eyes for a moment. "I probably will," he sighed. "But…I know that I'll loose if I do. My mind is scrambled."

"Let me help you, then. Do what you did the first time Jessica tried to kill you, and borrow some of my life-energy or what ever it's called."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He placed a hand over hers. "This is going to hurt."

* * *

Dominic, formerly known as Drel, brushed his hair back with his spare hand in an air of frustration. "You really shouldn't have come, love," he sighed for the umpteenth time. Alexandra braced her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing like rubies.

"I _do_ know how to take care of myself, Dom. _And_ you. Must I mention the circumstances of our meeting…_again_?"

"No, love, that's quite alright." Dominic shifted the sword to his other hand. The wind rustled the dead grass of the field they stood in, tugging at their clothes. Alexandra wore the same clothes as he; she never wore a dress if she could avoid it. She had lived most of her life on the streets of London, sleeping in the alleyways before she was turned by a vampire, and dresses weren't very sensible. Alexandra was as tough as nails, much more so than Dominic, who had been raised as a pacifist. The first time they met, she was out hunting for blood, and he himself was in the process of being mugged. She had drained the assailant dry and dragged Dom himself back to his flat, sparing his life solely because of his appearance. Dominic showed all the true traits of a Raven demon, from his angular, attractive face and fine-boned structure to his tan skin and ebony hair and eyes.

"Then you can stop harping on me for following you! I'm not a delicate little noble-lady."

"And well do I know that." He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. "But Kalendrakk…he's incredibly unpredictable."

"Then why are you fighting him?"

"Because I have a hundred year's seniority to you and because I should be the one to put an end to his violent existence."

"My stubbornness must really be starting to rub off on you."

"One of your finer traits," he drawled. Alex rolled her eyes theatrically and held back a grin. Dominic caught movement out of the corner of his eye and tightened his grip on his sword.

"Is that him?" Alex had stopped grinning and stared at the figure flying toward them.

"Yes. That…is my little brother."

"Who's that with him?"

Dominic frowned. Kalendrakk landed in a tree at the edge of the field and set a girl down on the branch. As he watched, the girl reached up and touched his brother's shoulder. Kalendrakk nodded and took flight once more. The girl was golden-haired with dark blue eyes; no human would have been able to make out her eyes color in the early, dark hours of the morning, from that distance, but Dominic had demon eyes, combined with a raven's sharp gaze. He knew Kalendrakk's was sharper than his.

"That must be the Princess," he whispered to Alexandra. "But it can't be. She's supposed to--"

"Kill me, yes, she is." Kalendrakk landed, his deadly wings framing his body in a halo of what looked like black steel. He had very little in resemblance to Dominic. Dom was slightly built, bordering on lanky. Kalendrakk's frame somewhat resembled his, but was covered with muscle. Dominic was five foot eleven; Kalendrakk was six and a half feet tall. Dom's face was almost catlike in appearance; Kal's was more rugged than their species' should have been. Dom could barely believe that this tall, dangerous creature could have been his tiny, quite little brother…but then, a person could change a lot in fifteen years.

He recognized the eyes, though; the left one a pale-purple, the right black. The eyes had never changed.

"Ironic, isn't it?" Kalendrakk's voice had also deepened quite a lot; it also sounded as if he'd damaged his vocal cords a bit. He spoke in English without the slightest hint of French, but Dominic suspected he could hear a trace of the Raven demon language in it; Kohm'kiiten, the language was called. Kal grinned, displaying fangs much longer than Alexandra's, who was a vampire. Another mutation; no Raven demon had ever had fangs or claws. Kal had both.

"Yes, it is," Dominic replied smoothly. "I would have thought that she would be out hunting you down. That's her fate, last time I checked."

Kal chuckled. "And mine is to eventually be killed by her. But then…the prophecy changes by itself from time to time. If you watch the original text, the words move around and change completely of their own accord! If there was a copy left, you could see for yourself."

"You've destroyed them all, I take it."

"Of course! I'm no idiot."

Alexandra narrowed her eyes. "Something isn't right about him," she told Dom. Her voice was barely above a whisper, but Kal tilted his head as if he'd heard her,

"There's a lot of things wrong with me, vampire."

Dominic laid a hand on her shoulder. "His hearing is extraordinary."

Kal grinned, white fangs flashing against black lips. "Was that a compliment, Rehniika yanziiru?"

"No, just stating the facts." But Alex was right; something was wrong with him, other than the usual abnormalities. It was the way he spoke, stood…and the way he looked at them. His mis-matched eyes were looking at them…but they were just the slightest bit off the mark of their actual faces. No human would have noticed it, probably.

Kal sneered. "Are you putting off the fight, coward? Typical Rehniika pacifist."

"It was how you were raised, as well," Dom tossed back, but raised his sword into a fighting stance.

"You forget that was only for the first three years of my life." Kal spread his wings and hooked his clawed hands. Dominic discarded his shirt and unfurled his wings as well; it felt wonderful to stretch them out after keeping them hidden for so long. "But I'll be truthful and add the three I spent with the adopted human mother. That's six years. Six years of peace are easily forgotten in thirteen, now going on fourteen, years of hell." Kal smiled, and Dom felt his blood run cold. "I can make you think that hell is heaven, if I want, by the end of this little fight. D'you and the little vampire want to wait around and see if I really want to?"

"I'll find out the hard way." Dominic pumped his wings and flew until he was high above the field; Kal followed.

* * *

Allie gnawed on her lip as she watched the two fly into the air. Kal had taken a lot more energy from her than he had the first time; she had told him to. She felt exhausted, but Kal was nearly glowing with energy.

The man she had recognized as Drel looked nothing like Kal. Allie admitted that Kal was good-looking (in an evil, demon-y sort of way), but Drel was drop-dead _gorgeous. _In a much less demon-like way. She had no idea who the woman with him was, and by the time the two Raven demons were in the air, she forgot all about her.

When they began to fight for real, Allie found herself forgetting that Kal was blind; if Drel hadn't of had such quick reflexes, Kal would have torn him to pieces in a matter of minutes. Drel matched Kal equally, his sword missing Kal by a hair's breadth each time. It wasn't until two minutes or so in to the battle that either of their blows met flesh; and when they did, blood literally rained down. It darkened the yellow grass below them in red patches.

Allie found herself standing without remembering having stood, absorbed in their battle. At one point, she felt a flash of emotion from Drel; he was tiring, and quickly. He was much stronger than a human, but not Kal. Allie pitied Drel--he seemed like a very sweet person—but she was praying that Kal would win the battle soon, without Drel dying, and before he broke down emotionally again.

Kal, meanwhile, was laughing. His hands glittered with his older brother's blood, and he was doing pretty well in the battle, considering the opponent wielded a sword.

Allie was so engrossed, that she took a step forward to get a better look, having forgotten entirely that she was standing in a tree. With a surprised scream, she slipped and fell, landing awkwardly on her ankle. Above, Kal twisted in the air and flew towards her; Drel took the advantage and caught him with his sword just below his shoulder. Kal growled, a sound that even reached Allie, and in an almost cat-like motion, scratched Drel across the chest, opening four red diagonal lines. Drel dropped nearly all the way to the ground before he caught himself and managed to land properly; the woman was at his side so fast, she appeared to have teleported. Kal himself folded his wings neatly into his back and dropped thirty feet to the ground. He landed on his feet and stood glaring at Drel. Allie heard him say something to the couple in English that she didn't understand, she had become a little distracted by her ankle. A shard of something white stuck out from it and shone like a bone in the scant moonlight.

Probably because it _was_ a bone. "Oh,_ gross_. Ow."

Kal had stopped about halfway from her and fell to his knees as if he had been stuck on the head; it wasn't Drel. The woman he was with was dragging him away by the arm.

"Not _now_," Allie groaned. As if to mock her, Kal promptly passed out.


	32. Chapter 31

A/N- Heh heh…it's still the 13th…I wonder what mad things I will make Kal's emotions do to him next!

"Hey-ho, let's go."

-The Ramones

* * *

Kal eventually become aware of someone shaking him. "Wake up!"

"M' awake," he yawned, and sat up. His left arm was throbbing painfully along with half a dozen other places on his body. "What time's it?"

"Just past sunrise." Allie looked tired and disgruntled; a handful of dead leaves and twigs were stuck in her hair. "It's still the thirteenth, you know."

"I know." He yawned again and held up his hand. "I've gone through fear," he ticked off a finger; "fury, sorrow…and I believe I'm still stuck on happiness." He grinned broadly. "And a little giddy."

"I've noticed. So what emotions come next?" She ran her hands through her hair, made a face and picked the bits of vegetation out.

Kal considered it. "Hmm…I think something like love or infatuation. What ever you humans call it." He raised an eyebrow as he heard Allie squeak in shock. "What? Are those emotions bad?"

"It's all depending…I'm sure we can find a spare room to lock you up in while _those _emotions take hold."

"Sounds fine with me!"

"God, you are happy. It's kind of scary." She shuddered and ran her hands through her hair, trying to comb out the bits of leaf.

"I wouldn't worry. It never lasts very long; and besides, I was pretty happy during that fight. I wonder who that other demon was? I could've _sworn _they were all slaughtered! Isn't that funny?"

"Um, yes. Funny. So after…happiness there's...whatever…and that's all?"

"No." Kal smiled and shook his hair over his shoulder. "Then they usually all hit me at once, and then I go out of my mind. Oh, and then something happens to my muscles, see, and they all contract and all of my nerves go all…funny. I have no idea why…maybe it's something chemical. Like I said, I don't know. But it's_ unbearably _painful!"

"You say this with a big smile on."

Kal laughed. "I do, don't I? It's a pity I'm blind; I'd just die to see the expression on your face right now!"

"I'm sure."

He jumped to his feet and offered his hand in the direction he guessed she was. "C'mon! Let's go somewhere."

"Um, Kal? My ankle's broken."

"Oh, it _did_ break, didn't it? I forgot." He bent down and scooped her up in his arms. It was easy enough to guess where she was; her heartbeat and breathing sounded almost abnormally loud to his ears, and he could smell her. She kind of smelled like flowers, and grass and leaves from the field, and then there was the scent of her blood and skin and hair; unique to every human. And, on top of that, there was her magic. He couldn't place the scent, but it was like a mix between the breeze coming off an ocean and new spring flowers. And if_ light_ could have a smell—

"Uh, Kal? You're looking at me funny."

"Of course I'm not! I can't _see_, Princess."

"Ha, ha."

"Why are you in such a grumpy mood?"

"Because I haven't slept since a day ago, I'm hungry, and I've been up all night," she snapped. And, just like that, he fancied he could _smell_ her anger as well as feel it.

"Well, let's go to Mel's, and you can have a good breakfast and take a nap." He grinned in her direction and leapt into the air. _I guess that, since I've lost my sight, my other senses must have doubled._

_That's not so bad, I think. _

_I've never noticed how nice the Princess smelled until now…and her _skin_! It feels just like that expensive fabric, what's it called? Silk, that's it. It's really too bad that I can't feel it without burning…. _

"Kal! We're _falling_!"

"Right, sorry." He re-adjusted his wings, relying solely on memory for direction, unaware that happiness had already deserted him and left him with another emotion without him even noticing.

* * *

Allie kept her eyes wide open the entire fly there, despite the wind that stung them. If Kal wasn't going to pay attention to his flying,_ she_ would_. How does he know which way to fly, anyways? He's _blind_ for God's sake! If he's just guessing…_But Mel's manor was soon looming up in front of them…very quickly, in fact. "Kal! Slow down, will you? We're going to crash!"

"Right. Slowing down as we speak." Kal pulled up and dropped neatly to the ground, inside the gates this time. The guards didn't even twitch.

"Let me guess; he's still your friend and we're still supposed to allow him in the manor," one sighed.

"You're a fast learner, Matt."

"Go on inside, Mademoiselle Alison," he sighed.

Kal carried her. "The steps are about twenty paces in front of you," she told him.When they came to the steps, he missed the first and barely managed to catch his balance before he fell down. "Maybe we should get you a cane," Allie suggested. He shook his head absently.

"No, no…that would be inviting demons to attack me, if they knew I was crippled." Kal looked as if his mind were somewhere else.

"Fine. Bonjour, Mel, Kelly!"

Her two friends looked as if they would have tackled her, had she not been in Kal's arms. "_God_, Allie--!"

"You could have at least left a note--!"

"You look _awful_!"

"Thanks." Allie giggled and held them out at arm's length. "But can you two hold off the lecturing till I've at least eaten and changed?"

Mel rolled her eyes theatrically and waved her hand towards the staircase. "Whatever you say, your highness. But the second you're finished, you're going to tell us why you suddenly disappeared at one in the morning."

"Um, Alls?" Kelly dropped her voice to a whisper and bent next to Allie's ear.. "Kal's looking at you _really_ weird," she whispered.

"I'm not," Kal protested.

Kelly frowned. "How can you hear me?"

"Easily."

"Kal, could you take me upstairs, please?"

"Okay."

Kal _was_ staring at her in a very weird way, though. Not that he actually saw her, but his eyes_ looked _like they were looking at her—_this is really going to take some getting used to._

She pulled the door closed. "Kal, are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, fine."

"You look kind of strange."

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"_Yes._"

She shook her head; he was going through more mood swings than a pregnant woman, it seemed. "Then I'm going to change my clothes. Just…stay here. Don't go roaming around the manor on a rampage or anything." She squirmed out of his arms and hobbled into the bathroom, favoring her ankle.

Kal sat down on the floor, crossing his legs.

Allie suddenly had the urge to pat him on the head and say _"Good doggy."_ Instead, she rolled her eyes and closed the door behind her, hoping that she would be able to work that healing spell on herself.

* * *

Kal tapped his fingers restlessly on the floor. He really couldn't stand the thirteenth; with all of those emotions pestering him, he could never concentrate on…

…_Allie Alison Princess…_

…keeping a single thought in his head. He may as just as well…

…_Allie Allie Allie…_

…go and knock himself unconscious. But his head didn't want to focus on anything other than…

He heard Allie come out of the bathroom and close the door. "Okay, let's go downstairs." She fiddled with her braid; he could hear the skin of her fingers sliding over it.

"Uh-huh." Kal stood up and tried to push away all of his thoughts, but his mind just didn't want to focus.

"Um, going somewhere usually requires you to move."

"Right."

"Kal, are you just going to stand there all day?" She crossed over to him and tugged on his arm. "Mel and Kelly are going to think that I died up here or some--" Kal bent and kissed her on the full on the mouth before she could finish.

Allie could feel Kal's lips burning away, but he didn't even seem to notice; his arms were wrapped around her shoulders, not forcing her to kiss him but just holding her. Allie herself didn't know whether to break away or just kiss him; for God's sake, it was Kal! _Kal_! Of course she wasn't supposed to kiss him! Friends, okay, but _relationship_? _God, I just hope it's because his emotions are messing up his head!_ She pulled away from him and wiped his blood from her lips with the back of her hand. Kal didn't make any move to stop her, only stood there.

"What the _hell_ was that?"

Kal shrugged wordlessly.

"You—I—_ah_!" She stomped her foot in frustration. "I _hate_ the thirteenth!" Kal licked the blood off of his lips. "And how are you going to explain _that_?"

Another shrug. "I won't." He was staring in her direction again.

"_Please_ tell me that was just because of the thirteenth and your weird mood-swings and emotions and crap!"

"It was just because of the thirteenth and my weird mood-swings and emotions and crap."

"I didn't mean—I give up!" She touched her chin. "And your blood is all over my face!" Allie scrubbed at her chin. "This is _really _bad!"

"What?"

"You _know_ that this is just because you're barely sane today, right?"

"Yes…"

"Then why don't you pretend to act like your normal, evil self? _Please_?" Agitation was working its way into her voice; panic was already there.

"Because my normal, evil self doesn't love and doesn't kiss."

Allie moaned and pressed her hands to her head. "I think I'm actually _missing_—wait, did you just say _love_?"

Kal tilted his head. "I don't know, did I?"

"You're joking," Allie muttered. "I'm just at the end of a really bad joke, _that's_ what all this has to be. You're still overly happy, right? This is just your idea of being funny."

Kal sucked more blood off his lips; they were bleeding freely now. "I don't play practical jokes often. And I understand that I probably won't feel anything after midnight, and you, being the Princess, never _will_: I'm not stupid; I know you have feelings for that gypsy-sparrow. But I…" he trailed off, his eyebrows knotting together over his mis-matched eyes. The irises were turning misty-red; a shade not unlike his whites…it took Allie a moment to realize that it was blood. It welled up in his eyes and striped his cheeks, a parody of tears. _He's crying blood,_ she thought. _Oh dear God, he's crying _blood! Kal blinked hard; more blood tears ran out and fell into the corners of his already-bloody mouth. _I don't think I can stand much more blood…_

_Oh why the _hell_ didn't I _just let him go?_ He could be in the mountains, an _ocean away_, and _none_ of this would be happening!_

"Right now, I love you, Princess."

And this time he kissed her, even more blood got on her face. _Why aren't I running away, why am I not even _moving_, he's not even forcing me to _stay_, so why am I not _running

Had her eyes been open, she would have seen their auras again. This time, her white-blue and Kal's purple-black would be shot through with bright veins of pinkish-red color, symbolic for love.

"Allie, did you _die_ up here or someth—_OH MY GOD!_"

* * *

Kal sat quietly at the table while everyone else ate. He poured himself another glass of wine from the bottle that sat in front of him, though it would probably make his drowsy; some drowsiness would be met with open arms. Across the table, he sensed, by their emotions, he was being sent a few occasional, cold, and very hostile glares from Mel and Kelly. Keith's emotions were neutral enough; he could sense Jordan glancing at him from time to time, more curiosity than anything. From Allie herself, he felt tension as taught as a wire as she kept up the conversation with forced cheeriness.

_I've upset her_. Kal sighed deeply and reached for the wine bottle, having drained his second glass. _I've gone and upset her…again. Why do I do that so much, I wonder? I told her I wasn't stupid, but I think I must be. So very stupid. _Smart _mass-murderer freaks_, _on the other hand, keep their mouths shut and their hearts barricaded. They do _not_ kiss the person that is destined to kill them. And they _certainly_ don't if the product is having their lips nearly burned off. _Kal touched his scabbed lips gingerly. It would be quite some time till they were healed altogether, but for now, he could only help an excess of wine would help numb them along with his foolish mind. _And your heart, remember. That battered, useless muscle that got you into this trouble._

"Are you going to drain that entire bottle?" Allie inquired. Kal finished his glass and kept his sightless eyes on the table.

"If nobody else wants any," he answered, keeping his voice as neutral as possible.

"Knock yourself out," Mel said, waited a beat and added "Really. Knock yourself out."

He heard the swish of Allie's braid against the fabric of her dress as she shook her head in exasperation, but she didn't push the subject, instead changing it to the masked ball Mel was planning on having at the end of October. Kal lost track of what they were saying (and lost interest: he would never, no matter how mentally unstable, be interested in what colours went best with what flower arrangement), but began to imagine, in spite of himself, Allie, dressed up for the particular occasion.

_A blue dress would look nice on her_, he thought. _Blue and gold, to bring out her eyes and hair. A mask would be a pity, to cover up her face…_

_Keep dreaming, Kalendrakk…you'll never see her in it._ Kal reached out for the bottle to re-fill his glass again, but missed. Instead, he knocked it on his side, spilling half-full wine bottle all over the tablecloth.He felt around blindly for it until his hand finally brushed against the bottle. "Sorry," he muttered under his breath as he righted it.

"It wasn't on purpose," Allie hastily spoke up. He sensed she was cutting off one of her friends, and caught a string of thought from Mel—_just like it was an accident that you almost killed Allie?_

and from Kelly--_what if he hurt _her_ "not on purpose"?_

Then from Jordan_—Hey, he's almost as clumsy as Alls…good match._

And, finally, from Keith_—That was right in front of him…I think he's blind._

_Sometimes I wish I didn't inherit any telepathy…it can get to be so annoying._ Kal folded both of his hands in his lap, not wanting to knock over anything else. _Both of the girls are too protective of the Princess, and I don't blame them for that…Jordan's thought…as if we could even have a relationship! After midnight, I won't have any of those emotions. And Keith…I wonder if he's the only one that even suspects I'm blind._ He finally felt the numbing effects of the alcohol work its way up to his brain. It was far from what would make a demon, especially him, drunk as a human would, but it was enough to make him mildly tipsy. Kal was considering asking for another few bottles to make him _really_ tipsy when he felt the first tingling pricks. It wasn't very painful: a tingling in his fingers over his skin. But before the day was out, he knew from experience that those light pricks would evolve into red-hot daggers. _Why can't I just have a normal body? It would be better that nice…and what if I had been born…_not _evil? _Not_ with this curse? My parents (and race) would have still been slaughtered…but I wouldn't have killed Karen. I could have grown up, raised as an almost-ordinary human male. I probably would have drifted, without moving from place to place to avoid being killed in my sleep. Jessica's fiancé, Michael, wouldn't have been killed. I might have came to Paris on my own terms, not just wanting to get out of America to stop being pestered by Jessica. Who knows? I might have even met the Princess, on non-violent terms. And, since I wouldn't have murdered her parents, not being evil, I wouldn't drag her along with me, traveling. I might have become her protector, not out of a reason I still don't understand, but out of the old Raven demon tradition. And, maybe…_

…_maybe we could have fallen in love. It would have been a possibility, had I not been born with this curse. And, if not with Allie, someone else…but I can't think of anyone else. _

…_I would be able to touch her, kiss her, hold her, without having my skin burned off…_

…_if only I had not been born with this curse, as this abomination, this evil, death-lusting freak…_

…_this Kalendrakk. This solitary freakish Raven demon, flying under the cover of fog and mist._

_A raven in the fog._

"_A raven in the fog is a dangerous thing/Kill the monster before it takes wing"._

"Are you alright? Kal? Hey!" A pair of fingers snapped in front of his face. "Kal!"

"Hmmm? Oh. Yes, I'm fine, Princess." He felt very sick, actually, sick to his stomach and his heart, but she didn't need to know that, now, did she? _I've upset her enough. If I can just keep my mouth shut…and to myself…until this day is over, then everything can go back to as it was._


	33. Chapter 32

A/N: Woohoo, chapter 32….and a big time lapse! I think it's time to give Kal a little break for once. So, movin' past the thirteenth, and onto October!

"In your wettest dreams, motherfuck."

-Bag of Bones, by Stephen King.

(It just seems like something Kal would say :-)

* * *

Time passed. Kelly and Keith got married and moved into their own house on the edge of town; Jordan proposed to Mel. And Allie simply celebrated with her friends and waited for Kal to do something, to mention the kisses. But the fourteenth, then the fifteenth, 31st July came and left; and August after that. The nights grew colder and the summer waned, melting into autumn.

She healed Kal's lips before the night of the 13th was out. Maybe it was the loss of the burns as a reminder that caused him to forget; maybe it was the fact that, before he nearly lost his mind to the pain that he explained to her earlier, he knocked himself unconscious. Whatever it was, when he awoke the next day, he seemed not to remember he'd kissed her; not remember that he said he loved her; not remember, in fact, anything that had happened the day before. Though, one day not long after, she caught him rubbing one corner of his mouth: there was a burn there, a spot she had missed. Kal looked in her direction and narrowed his blind eyes at her. "Where'd this come from?" he asked. She shrugged in what she hoped was an innocent, confused fashion, remembered he was blind, then said no and made an excuse to leave the room quickly, but not before she could catch the disgruntled, angry look on his face.

The Kal she was used to was back, all right. On one hand, it was a_ huge_ relief for the bizarre mood swings to be gone…but on the other, she kept wondering about what he had said to her. Either he had truly forgotten….or he was pretending to have forgotten. Whichever one it was, he never said a word, and Allie thought it was better if he didn't remember; after all, he couldn't feel…what he said he felt…anymore. At least, not until the next thirteenth. And because of that, she all but ordered her friends not to let so much a whisper about it escape their lips…especially not a whisper. Kal seemed to listen even more intently when people whispered than when they spoke aloud.

So Allie let Kal's memory remain (hopefully) blank about that particular day, and tried to forget herself. But every so often, she would feel the queer sensation of Kal's lips pressed against hers, and the sensation of them burning away as the seconds passed. It was a wonder that Kal didn't catch the memory from her: she thought it was because she was now doing what he did, creating a mental brick wall between their thoughts.

September left and October, with its molten gold, crimson, and copper leaves, arrived. The planning began for the masked ball that was to be held at the month's end, and everyone, including Kal (much against his will), was fitted for their costumes.

Mel frowned as she examined silk in three different shades of red: her costume was to be the Queen of Hearts, for the cards. Jordan's would be, appropriately, the Joker. He poked her shoulder until she looked up. "What?"

"I was just wondering why it's taking so long for you to decide on which red to use."

She rolled her eyes at him and went back to the fabrics.

Allie, at the other side of the ballroom (where fabric samples, measuring tapes, pins, and the like were all scattered about along with the seamstresses), was trying to convince Kal to let one seamstress (a old woman with hard eyes who had to be as old as the rocks) take his measurements.

"It won't even take that long!"

"Princess, in how many languages do I have to tell you 'no' before it goes through your thick skull? Because I only know three."

"Please?"

"_No_, for the tenth time now!"

"_Pleeeeease_?"

"No!"

"Kal, don't make me say it. I will. And I'll also make you wear a lacey pink dress to the masked ball while I'm at it." She smiled triumphantly as Kal uncrossed his arms and held them stretched out. The old woman muttered to herself as she went about taking his measurements, not frightened in the least of Kal. Of course, he had on his human illusion, his hair was combed into a thick braid (Allie's doing, of course), and he wore clean, un-torn clothes. The entire combination made him look more human than ever…that is, if you overlooked his unnatural eyes, his pointed ears, and his fangs and claws (illusioned to look smaller and less deadly). It was almost enough for her to imagine that he _was_ a human…_and_ (she thought) _wouldn't it be so much easier if he was?_

"If I was what?" he grumbled. She hadn't been aware that the thought had slipped through. It was happening more frequently (though, thankfully, not the particular memory of the thirteenth), and she guessed it was just a part of the fact that he was her protector and she was his charge.

"Ummm…less stubborn when it came to simple things like getting measured for clothes," she lied quickly.

"Just be lucky I have the thing you humans call 'modesty'." He tried to edge away automatically as the seamstress wrapped the measuring tape around his waist, and was yanked back. He rolled his eyes in an almost perfect imitation of Allie, much to Allie's own amusement. "Otherwise, I'd probably just scoff at the notion of clothes and run around stark naked."

"Urgh!" She clapped her hands to her ears. "I could've lived without that information, thank you! _Ew_!" Allie shook her head hard as if to dislodge the mental image before it could form…and she_ really _could do without a mental image of Kal… "Alright, Allie, think happy thoughts, happy thoughts…um…costume! We have to decide on a costume for you!"

"Tell you what. I'll just put a dunce-cap on my head and go as you."

Allie stuck out her tongue…Kal couldn't see the childish gesture, but she would've bet he could at least sense the emotion she was giving off: annoyance. "Why not a raven? That'd be appropriate." Her mind, grateful for another subject to go on, went to tick off the possibilities. "We could make a mask…you know, half a bird's head you could put on, with the top half of the beak over your nose…it wouldn't even be necessary to put eyeholes in. As for the costume--"

"Stop where you are! I'm not putting anything on my head."

"It's a _masked ball_…kiiyen."

"I won't wear anything on my head, kiiyen _drose-t're_."

Allie raised an eyebrow, sensing that they were about to get into a very Kal-like swearing argument. "Well, you stupid crow, you are going to wear a mask."

"I said I wouldn't, you blonde trollop!"

"Bastard," she tossed back.

"Stupid _Princess_."

"_Human_."

"Ye two stop th' swearin', before I wash yer mouths out with soap," the seamstress grumbled crossly. She gave them both a hard stare, picked up the parchment she had written the measurements on, and walked away, leaving them to stare (in Allie's case) at each other in silence. But only for a moment; Allie broke it not a second later by bursting into loud laughter, doubling over and holding her stomach. Kal shrugged.

"I don't see what so terribly funny." But Allie caught a grin creeping onto his mouth, and laughed harder.

_If we're starting to act more alike, now, with our speech and little things like rolling eyes...what happens a year from now? Will Kal act more like me?_ The image of Kal braiding his hair whilst in a blue dress rose automatically into her head, bringing on another gale of laughter.

_But what if I start to pick up more of his traits? What if I start to become a killer?_ That particular thought made her laughter abate, for the time being, leaving only a peculiar feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Unlikely you'll have to worry 'bout that." Kal was looking down at her; when had she fallen to her knees? Had she really be laughing that hard? "You might get a little more aggressive, but that's about it. If you stay around me that long, that is."

Allie grabbed onto his pants leg and pulled herself up. "I don't have much of a choice, it seems." She poked him on the shoulder. "What, d'you still think I want to kill you?"

"I'm not even going to _start_ on that subject."

"Good. Because, you know I'd win that argument."

He snorted and shoved her lightly backwards. Not trying to hurt her…_joking_ with her. _Maybe I _am_ rubbing off on him a bit…some of my lighter emotions, anyways. Or maybe that barrier of magic over his emotions might be starting to let down, a little. _"Unlikely."

He tilted his head to the side, as if listening to something. "Starting to rain outside," he said after a moment.

"Don't tell me you can hear the rain!" _Though, his hearing is so strong…I wouldn't doubt it much._

He smiled. "I won't tell you." Kal turned on his heel and began to limp in the direction of the doors that lead out to a small balcony, and Allie tagged after him.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"I've been inside all day, and the smell and noise of all these humans are starting to make me sick. I'm going to fly around for a little while." Still walking, he stripped off his shirt and crumpled it into a ball that he threw with surprising accuracy at Mel's head. Kal seemed to have developed a disliking towards Mel, same as she had for him. Now she jerked her head up and glared at him; a glare he missed.

"You know that regular people don't take their shirts off in public," she said to him in an undertone as he tugged the doors open. Behind them, people were staring at the thick patchwork of scar tissue that was his back.

"I'm not exactly regular, Princess. And why are you following me?" The rain fell down in misty sheets around them; the light breeze was strong with the scent of dead leaves, and it was cold. Autumn was defiantly settled in; and winter was not that very far away. "Are you planning on coming along for the ride?"

She shivered. "In _this_ weather? I'll have to decline." She looked at his arms and saw a lack of goose bumps, despite the cold raindrops that were falling all over him. "I don't see why you'd_ want_ to go flying…and how you're not cold."

"This weather would be warmer that summertime in the mountains."

"Oh. Right. Well…have fun."

"If I can find a human or two to kill, I will." He displayed all of his fangs in a grin and was off and flying before she could give a response.

* * *

Allie was right, wondering why he'd want to go flying…the rain, as usual, brought a deep ache into where his bones had broken, and his heart. But it was a welcome alternative for him to staying in the manor. It seemed more crowded than ever, but that was probably because of his hearing (a place seemed much more crowded when you heard every heartbeat) which seemed to have tripled since he lost his sight. He couldn't remember the details of how he'd gone blind, but he suspected something had happened on the thirteenth…something to do with poison, his foggy memory insisted, but he ignored it. The burn on his lower lip he'd found the day or so after was a lot more troubling. It was the type of burn he only got if he touched Allie…or anyone else not evil, for that matter. If it had been on his hand (and there were quite a few there) he wouldn't have given it a second thought…but on his _lip?_ He knew, of course, that Allie's hand (or anyone else's) or skin could have accidentally touched his face, but a deeper part of his mind seemed to disagree…strongly. While he was half-asleep, he seemed to hear the echoes of a voice, Allie's and her voice was really her thoughts.

_Oh dear God, he's crying _blood!..._Oh why the _hell_ didn't I _just let him go?...away_, and _none_ of this would be happening!_

Kal shook his head, hard. _Stop trying to make everything worse that it probably is!_ _That burn might've gotten there any number of ways, and not the one that's least likely!_

He spent the rest of his flight focusing his mind on simply flying. It was odd, feeling the wind rush past his face and feel himself go through the air at his usual, nearly-breakneck speed, but something he could get used to. Unless, of course, he lost track of where he was going, since he was only relying on memory, and crashed. That would be painful.

But he (thankfully) managed to fly in a large circle high enough over the manor that he was in the clouds and out of sight. A half an hour or so later, he landed on the roof, dripping wet, and felt his way down to what he hoped was one of the ballroom's windows.

He was badly mistaken; later, Allie would tell him that it was actually the window that led into Mel's bathing chambers. And of course, it was just Kal's luck that she was in the middle of changing.

"GET OUT YOU _BASTARD_!"

Kal's ears began to ring; a moment later, a heavy object collided into his eye. "Calm down, I'm going!" He dropped from the windowsill before she could throw some other heavy object at his head and located Allie by her thoughts, his eye swelling where whatever she had thrown hit him. _Talk about déjà vu._

* * *

"Do you know how to dance?"

Kal looked up from his violin; he'd been playing for the past while, quiet, normal music, nothing evil. "Why?"

"Moving back to the subject of the masked ball--"

"Not_ that_ stupid thing again!" he interrupted, setting his bow to the side. "Is that _all_ you humans will be talking about until the month's end?"

"Yes. Now as I was saying, since it is a masked ball, you'll probably have to dance."

"No."

She pressed on quickly before he could drown her out with his music. "Do you even know how?"

"No. That's a very common word lately…why d'you never listen to it, I wonder?"

"Because people are going to ask you to dance, and it's really rude to turn them down when--"

"I don't give a damn if it's rude, I won't be dancing. I don't know how, and I'm not goin to be learning, so _no_," he snapped, and continued his music.

Allie, on the other hand, smiled devilishly. _That's what you think_, she thought. _We'll just see, now won't we? That evil streak of yours finally rubbing off. Let's see how you'll like it. _

_And I know you can dance, you little liar; I saw you dance quite well on the roof of the Inn, while playing music. All I have to do is trick you, somehow, into dancing._

Allie smiled, closed her eyes, and laced her hands behind her neck. _This sounds like it may actually turn out normal, if all goes well…hopefully it will. Hopefully it'll be a nice, normal ball…_

"Stop thinking so loudly, will you?" Kal said in an irritated voice. "And, this is just a guess, but I doubt it'll turn out the way you want it."

"Why _not_?" she pouted. "Everyone deserves some normal every once in a while…even though these past month have been fairly calm, there's nothing that's more normal, for me, anyhow, a nice party."

Kal laughed. "Ah, Princess…you gave up your right to normality when you got the notion in your head that it would be fun to keep company with me." Still laughing, he set the violin back into its case.

"Then I guess the only way for me to have that back is for you to be normal, seeing as I am already…not counting the magic, of course."

Kal stretched his legs out and sat back, hair brushing the floor. "You know, I'm surprised sometimes that you're not a jester, Princess…the only other time I laugh this much is when I'm killing people."

"I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not…I think I'll just say 'gee, thanks,' but really, that's not a good thing to bring up in conversations, Kal." She found herself grinning in spite of herself. "But really, if we really work at it, I'll bet you could get a bit more normal."

"Did I ever mention I wanted to? I'm fine with how I am. Just the thought of being as emotional, cowardly, and weak as a 'normal' person is enough to make me retch." He rolled his eyes in her direction. They remained as unchanged as ever…it was hard to believe, even after months later, that he was blind. "Face it: you can't even picture me not as a Kalendrakk. Why can't you just accept my curse like everyone else, eh?"

"Blame it on my upbringing. I _worship_ normality."

"What, and you let me think all this time that you worshipped your mirror?"

"Ha. Ha." She waited a beat and then added, for good measure. "Ha." A part of what he said stuck in her mind. "Your curse? Oh…right."

"What about it? I don't like that tone you have in your voice."

"Well…curses can be broken, can't they?"

"Not mine, no. Everyone else's, usually. Not mine."

"But why not?" she whined. "Wouldn't it be nice for you not to be burned every time you touched someone, or someone touched you?"

"Wouldn't it be nice if you stopped bringing pointless subjects up? Be a good doggy and drop the goddamned conversation, will you?"

Allie sighed theatrically. "Fine, fine."

_I seem to have hit another sore spot of his…I wonder if it's somehow connected to the magical barrier over his emotions he doesn't even realize he's holding up?_

_Urgh…if breaking his 'curse' or whatever it is that makes him so evil gets rid of that thing…_

…_I'd rather not find out._


	34. Chapter 33

A/N: Wow, I can't believe that I'm already on chapter 33…and I had no idea that blind people couldn't move their eyes. Huh. Well...let's just say that Kal's special. Yeah. Let's stick with that.

Jeez, I'm getting lazy with updating!

"I will show you fear in a handful of dust."

-T.S. Elliot

* * *

_You've been oddly quiet today._

"I'm tired," Kal said shortly. "Now get off my knee, unless you want to loose that annoying head of yours."

Death gave an oh-why-me sigh inside of his head and flapped to the floor. _Grumpy too, I see._

"Nothin' new, crow."

_And since when are you, the All-Powerful Lord of Killing, tired? Unless…having you been drinking in excess again?_ Death had to move again to avoid a kick aimed at him by Kal. _Take it easy!_

"Since when is it that what I eat is any of_ your _business? I'm allowed to feel tired. Freaks like me _do_ get tired from time to time."

_So have you?_

"…a bit. So what? Alcohol can't hurt me. And you're not my mother, last time I checked."

Death sighed again. _Yes, but when you start drinking that stuff, it's usually a sign you're stressing about one thing or another._ He looked around the room. Allie and her two friends sat on the bed, scanning over notes. He and Kal were in the farthest corner of the room. He guessed that the Princess must have ordered Kal to remain in the room….why else would he there? _Is it the Princess?_

"Do you ever listen to yourself?" Kal brushed his hair out of his eyes and fixed the raven with a glare…which, despite his blindness, would have been quite intimidating…but, as it was, his eyes fell a few inches to the left of Death. "You're turning into _her. _Always asking annoying, irritating, stupid questions. Next thing you know you'll be gossiping over there with the rest of the girls."

He ruffled his feathers in annoyance. _Hmph_. He allowed a moment of silence to pass between them, broken by Kal's low whistling (_another sign something's not quite right_, Death thought), and then asked: _So…is it?_

"You really want to know what it is, crow?" Before Death could move out of the way, one of Kal's hands lashed out and closed around his neck. The girls looked up at his startled squawking. "It's because everyone, including you, won't leave me _THE FUCKING HELL ALONE!"_

"Kal, put him down, will you?" Allie said it neutrally…almost bored. Death could hear the worry under the surface, but it was a good thing she said it the way she did; had she ordered Kal, he suspected the demon would have simply popped his claws into his throat.

Kal tossed the harried bird across the room to her. "Let me out of here. Now. Or next time, it won't be the crow."

Death landed clumsily on the bed and nearly crashed beak-first into Mel. _Sorry,_ he apologized, but Mel didn't give any sign of hearing.

Allie, meanwhile, was staring at Kal. Death thought that, by the way, she was looking at him, they were communicating by thought…but, if they were, he heard nothing. Lately, he could never hear their telepathic conversations. As he watched, Kal narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms stubbornly. Allie huffed in frustration and dropped the sheaf of paper she'd been holding. "Mel, Kelly, would it be alright if I went on a walk? I'd be back in a minute."

"Sure. We'll scan over the rest of the plans," Kelly answered lightly.

"Great." She hopped off the bed and crossed the room to the fuming demon; Death watched in surprise as she grabbed his wrist and guided him out of the bedroom_. If anyone else tried that, he would rip them to shreds without a second thought. Perhaps he really is getting soft…_

"Should we put the bird outside?" Mel asked.

"I guess. It's still alive, right?"

"Yes." Mel held out her hand. "Here, big guy, let's put you outside." Death swallowed the indignation of being talked down to and hopped obediently onto her wrist.

"You know, he's kind of cute." Kelly stroked his head. "We should name him. He seems really tame, for a crow."

_A raven,_ Death thought, not much upset at the comment. It was less offending when it wasn't used as an insult.

"His name's Death, remember? Death...something or another. He looks more…like a Simon to me. What about you?"

Kelly nodded in agreement. "Defiantly a Simon…what do you think, M. Simon?"

Death looked at the two girls and exploded into cawing that the girls didn't know was laughter.

* * *

Allie stopped a few hallways down and dropped Kal's arm. "Well?"

Kal crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to one side. "_Well_, what?" All he needed to do was start tapping his foot, and then the picture of impatience would be complete.

"Why did you do that to Death?"

"Why the hell does it matter to _you,_ Princess? If you'd just let me go--"

She overrode him. "Oh, and where would you go?" Allie asked with mock-curiosity. "Tell me. Where would a six-and-a-half-foot, blind, mis-matched-eyed bad-tempered 'Kalendrakk' be able to stay? Are you saying there's actually a place in France where you could go?"

He bared his fangs at her and took a step forward. "And whose fault is it that I'm blind, I wonder?"

"Don't start that argument again!" She poked him in the stomach. "What's gotten into you that's made you so nice, huh? Don't tell me that, on top of the thirteenth, there's _another_ day where your emotions go wild!"

"It's this house!" Kal snapped. "This damned, stuffy, cramped, noisy house! Alright? I can't stand it anymore and it's driving me crazy!"

"You were sane in the first place?" she joked. "Easy, there," she added as he growled. "Are you saying you don't want to stay with me and my friends anymore?"

"I've been saying that ever since we got here in July, you blonde idiot," he said in exasperation…but he was calming down. A bit. "If you'd just drop your stupid commands and orders and let me go..."

"Oh. Well, if that's all…no." She backed away before he could hit her; she was getting much better at telling when he was about to snap. "Hit me, and it'd only hurt yourself." She pressed on in a rush before he could get a word in. "I said 'no', because, firstly, you'd end up crash-landing and breaking your neck. Secondly, Jessica and her group of…I don't know, soldiers, would take advantage, and kill you themselves. Thirdly--"

"I get the point," he interrupted. "Gods, you and Death both…"

Surprised at how quickly he was wearing down, she offered a bargain to close the argument. "Just wait until the masked ball…I promise that we can leave after that."

"What if I were to squeeze the life out of you, bit by bit, until you agreed to let me go now?"

"You'd die long before I would," Allie reminded him, holding back a laugh as he hit the wall. He pulled the punch, otherwise, the wall would have been demolished.

"Remind me why in the hell I did that stupid Raven-protector-crap."

She racked her memory, trying to pull up the reason. She came up with nothing. "I don't know…you've never said."

He shook his head, looking annoyed and amused at the same time. "The question was rhetorical, anyway."

* * *

_Miles away from where Kal and Allie were walking back to their room, a demon sorcerer sat gloomily in his chair; he was alone in his fire-lit room, the servants having sensed their master's ugly mood and keeping their distance. One of them had already been sacrificed._

_In the room, he shook his head angrily, the fire glinting in his silver hair and giving the illusion that his golden eyes were on fire. "Why didn't it work?" he muttered to the room for the umpteenth time. "It should have worked, by the gods!" He kneaded his temples with long, skeletal fingers. He was by far one of the best sorcerers in all of Europe. All of his calculations were exact. He had, in fact, brooded over the plans and formulas for over a year: the spell to resurrect the dead. And it wasn't just the dead; it was a specific dead person; one single, deceased woman._

_He had prepared the circle, making it on the floor with dried, powdered herbs. In the center he had placed the rune that symbolized "death", a triangle with two intersecting diagonal lines below. He had gone through all of the countless, slippery words in the ancient tongue of magic, every last word. _

_And he had supplied a sacrifice: a death in exchange for a life. The sacrifice itself (a lowly goblin servant, of no importance to him or anyone) was the key to his magic's success. He had killed it effortlessly, and placed its heart in the center of the death rune. While it was still beating, he repeated the last sentence of the incantation, anticipating the product of the spell—_

_--and it had _failed! _The circle, the rune, the heart, even the ground _under _it, had exploded into thick, choking smoke that reeked of sour soil, mold, and putrefied flesh._

"_Everything was _right_!" he snarled, bringing his fist down hard onto one black-clad thigh. "I did everything _perfectly" _He narrowed his fiery eyes and glared icily at the two-foot hole in the floor. The voice hissed out from behind his fangs was smooth and deadly all at once: a glass of expensive wine with poison mixed in. _"Why didn't it work?" _his volumous black robes billowing out behind him. "I gave a life for a life; a _death_ for a life! It should have worked perfectly!" He struck out at the wall, crumbling brick ad leaving his knuckles raw and bloody. "Damn it all!"_

Perhaps,_ a voice suddenly spoke up in his head_, perhaps itwasn't the matter of exchanging a life for a life.

Perhaps…you exchanged the _wrong_ life.

_He stopped, eyes blazing. That was _it! _"Jason, you god-damned _fool!_" he yelled. "It was right there in front of your eyes the entire time! You fool!" He resumed pacing, this time in excitement. "_Of course_ no one in his right mind would exchange the life of a goblin for that of a demoness! It will have to be someone—a female!—who can compare to her!" He snatched a clear orb from its place on the shelf, rubbing dust off of its surface. When was the last time he had touched it? Month? Probably two, but not more than that: he had been using it to check up on a family from time to time; they needed watching, that family. After all the trouble they caused him, it would have been a bother to loose track of them._

"_Someone with magic to equal hers," he said, and waved a hand over the ball. "Someone with powerful magic, yes, but also, she should be beautiful…not as beautiful as _she_ was, that's impossible, but no hag will do!" He chuckled and looked at the floor; a few feet away from the place his spell had gone awry, the charred body of the goblin-servant still remained. "And no goblin either!" He bent over the ball and spoke directly to it, his breath fogging the surface. "A girl," he said, loudly and clearly. "Find me a girl with magic to rival a demon's, a fair face, and youth. Find me a girl who's untainted and unscarred and with no handicaps. FIND HER!" _

_Dense black fog appeared in the orb, and there it stayed, writhing and churning around as Jason waited, staring into his own reflection. Finally, it cleared, and he watched the image inside._

_A human girl, who looked all of a minute older than seventeen, lay on her stomach on a canopy bed in a richly furnished bedroom, her feet at the head of the bed and her head propped up in her hands. Her skin was still showing remnants of a summer tan. A fan of freckles was sprinkled across her cheekbones and nose; her dark blue eyes were staring off into the corner of the room that the orb did not allow him to see; above her eyes, her gold eyebrows were arched in amusement; her dark blond hair was falling out of its braid, and a few strands framed her round face and fell next to her pink, smiling lips. She blew at a strand out of the corner of her mouth, only to have it settle in exactly the same place. _

"_Yes…she should do just fine," the demon sorcerer Jason said. Out of curiosity, he addressed the orb again. "Who or what is she watching?"_

_The view changed; the girl, who had no idea she had just been chosen as a sacrifice, moved to the side (t was as if someone were turning the inside of the orb), and a new person came into place: a man, this time. He was bent over a violin that was clearly of demon make, playing with apparently no effort as his fingers and bow danced across the strings. Inky hair fell over his forehead and into his eyes. That, and the way he was hunched over (_bad posture_, Jason thought absently, _probably not a nobleman_) made it impossible for him to see his face. His clothes were all black, as were his boots; they were showing wear, but were of fine make. _An entertainer, perhaps? Or maybe a courtier of the girl…or maybe—_The man looked up then; in fact, he seemed to look directly into Jason's eyes._

_The demon breathed in sharply and dropped the orb to the floor, where it shattered. He paid no mind to it, though; his mind was occupied on what he had seen…who the girl had been with. He could pass off as a man, of course—illusions were child's play for most demons. But Jason recognized the creature for who he was the moment he saw his eyes. _

"_Kalendrakk!" he exclaimed to himself grinning in amusement. "Gods be damned!" He had never come across the infamous demon (though, calling Kalendrakk a demon was a term of speech: the thing was a genetic mutation, a freak that even Nature would have been hard-pressed to create, it would have seemed), and nor did he particularly want to. "No matter." He stood and straightened his robes. "All his famed strength and little tricks will be no match for teleportation." He grinned to himself and seemed to disappear into thin air: there was, after all, no time like the present. The sooner he kidnapped and sacrificed the Princess for his beloved Marie, the better._

_Of course, he wouldn't realize until long after his scheme that he had shattered his glass orb before it could show him _another _girl, one with powers similar in strength to Allison's, but dormant. This particular girl even bore some resemblance to Allison…in more ways than one. Even though she was a farmer's daughter instead of a princess, her life would be changed by someone not quite human…but now was 1872. Her life would remain the same for nearly a year…then she, like Allie, would eventually fall for a demon._

_Jason, knowing none of this, was already on his way to the manor._


	35. Chapter 34

A/N: Woohoo, Jason's back! Well…since the now is two years before, I guess he's just there, but, yeah. Hmm, I wonder what devious things he'll do?

Now I feel so educated about blindness!

Jeez, late updating again!

Narnialover: Jason's a character I used in my other story, L'ange et le Monstre…basically just a demon-sorcerer guy with not much patience and a lotta arrogance.

* * *

"Where's Allie?" Mel asked sharply as Kal closed the door behind him. He bit his tongue to try and hold his temper.

"She went to see about lunch," he said carefully, not adding how she ordered him to stay in the room. "I don't follow her everywhere, you know." He trailed his fingers along the wall, subtly feeling his way back to where he had been before. He wished that she would get over her liking towards those infuriating orders and just let him alone. It wasn't as if he would slaughter anybody…well, not unless he was in a decent mood. Which he was. A little bit. He wasn't in a _horrible_ mood, anyways. He had cooled down quite a bit since he had attempted to strangle Death, in an almost surprising amount of time. He wondered if maybe the Princess had magicked him in some way to do that: it wouldn't surprise him at all if that was one of the tricks those annoying demons at the BlackRose Inn had taught her.

"Oh, really?" Mel said sarcastically. From what he could tell, she and Kelly were on the bed…along with Death.

"Yes, really," he replied, annoyance creeping into his voice. "And what're you doing with that crow?"

Death's voice spoke up in his head. _As you can see--well, maybe not...anyways, I have been initiated from the status of a bird to a group pet, apparently. _

This time it was Kelly who spoke. "He just seemed so tame; we've decided to make him our group pet. He even has a collar, now. And he doesn't seem to mind it at all!"

"Is that so?" Kal smirked and addressed Death privately_**. –a pet now, are you? Have they re-named you something sickeningly cute?-**_

_How does Simon sound to you?_

_**-not a name I'd prefer, that's what-**_

_Well, I like it,_ Death said defensively_, and they all agree it suits me very nicely. Even Allison said I looked like a Simon, although that was a while ago._

Kal sat down, grinning despite of himself_**. –now that you mention it, Simon was the name I originally thought of for you-**_

_Really?_

_**-no, you ladies' man! Are you going senile in old age?-**_

"What are you smirking about?"

Kal dropped the grin and made his face emotionless. It was probably his fangs that bothered Mel. Humans were such paranoid creatures; it wasn't any wonder that she'd be disturbed by his fangs, and the way it gave his smiles a slightly predatory look. "Nothing that'd interest you, Mademoiselle."

She snorted indignantly of this. Kal could feel her overall opinion that was something along the lines of "unlikely, you (insert vulgarity of choice here)". He could care less, as he wasn't very fond of the girl himself. He felt a small bit of respect, distantly, for how she so openly showed her dislike to a demon. Especially a demon such as himself.

He could hear the sound of flesh moving over feather: someone, either Mel or Kelly, petting Death. _**–that-,**_ he told the raven, _**-will be about as much attention from the opposite sex you'll get, **_**mon ami**_**-**_

Death chuckled inside his head. _Oh, I wouldn't be calling the kettle black if I were you._

The conversation went along like that for quite a while. Kelly usually went along as a go-between for Kal and Mel, as she was more mildly-tempered, not that it mattered: Kal paid little attention to what they were talking about, as most of it dealt with normal, day-to-day things he had no interest in. Occasionally, he would toss a silent, sarcastic remark at Death, but his mind was drifting elsewhere. While the two girls were happily gossiping, Death between them (he was listening, though they had no idea he could actually understand), he thought of different music--mostly the song he used to occasionally hypnotize humans and sometimes demons—and what sort of affect it would have if he chose to play it at their little party, as it seemed he had little choice about whether or not he came. After all, what was a part without a bit of chaos? Or a quite a bit of it…

He was snapped out of his thoughts awhile later when Mel stepped off of the bed, very quickly. It was the heavy thump of her feet that drew his attention.

"I think I'll go check up on Allie," Mel said, not quite casually. Kal could hear beginnings of worry that usually very quickly turned into panic in her voice. "She's been gone a while."

"I'll come with you." Another thump as Kelly jumped off. "Heh…maybe she's taken a fancy to one of the servants in the kitchen."

Mel laughed shortly. "Maybe," she said, but didn't voice her thoughts; she was close enough for Kal to make them out: _Anything would be better than that demon._

They were waiting to see what he was going to do; he could understand that easily enough, the hesitant way they were standing there. "You two have fun,' he said sarcastically. "I'll keep 'Simon' here company."

* * *

"Have you seen Allie?"

The cook, who was chopping vegetables, jumped at the sound of Mel's voice and nicked one of her fingers with the blade. "What're you doing, sneaking up on me like that?" she snapped, then recognized Mel. "Oh, begging your pardon. No, Mademoiselle, I haven't. That be the one with the blonde hair, yes?"

"Yes, that's Allie," Kelly agreed. "Blonde hair and dark blue eyes, a bit shorter than me-"

The cook shook her head. "Like I said afore, I haven't seen her." Wiping her injured finger on her apron, she gestured with her knife across the room. "You might try your luck with Liliane over there—her eyes are much sharper than this old battle-axe's. Oi, Lili!" She hollered. A young girl of about twelve or so jerked and looked up from the pot she was stirring.

"Me?"

"No, the _other_ Liliane. Come over here, girl!" The girl obediently trotted over and curtsied politely.

"Bonjour, Mesdemoiselles Melanie and Kelly."

The cook nodded to Lili. "Have you seen that blonde lady come in here, Liliane?"

She frowned. "Which one?"

Mel gave the description this time. "Her…friend said she came down here to check on lunch," she added. "That was a while ago."

Lili frowned again and thought it over. "No…I can't say that I've seen her. I'm sorry."

"That's alright," Mel sighed.

Kelly looked around the kitchen. "Could anyone else have seen her?"

"Hmm…maybe. Try Hannah—she's that one over there. She has eyes like a hawk."

Kelly shot a look at Mel, one that said she thought Allie hadn't been to the kitchen at all. Mel nodded in agreement, but went over and asked the other girl anyways.

No, Allie hadn't been down to the kitchens.

"Maybe she went somewhere else," Kelly suggested.

"Right. But then why would Kal say she went down to check on our lunch if she didn't?"

"I don't know." Kelly nodded her head to the hallway on her left. "I think I'll go ask around a bit, see if anyone else saw her. I know it's kind of dramatic and all, but--"

"No. Considering everything unnatural that's been happening around her, it's not. You go on and ask around. I'm going to go see Matt and Jeff, ask if she left." _But, if Allie did leave, even on a short walk, wouldn't she tell us? And why would she lie…or was it Kal that lied? If that bastard did _anything_ to her--! _"Meet me back here in half an hour."

"Right." Kelly started off and then paused to look over her shoulder. "Mel? What if we can't find her? Just hypothetically speaking."

Mel's fingers curled into fist. "'Just hypothetically speaking', Kal's going to have to do some explaining."

* * *

Allie groaned and forced her eyes open, her head throbbing horribly. After her eyes focused to the gloom, she could make out the room she was in: it was clearly underground, for the walls were packed dirt and roots were growing out of them. The room was completely bare, except for the oil lanterns hung on the walls. On the floor, there was an odd symbol drawn on the floor in what looked like powder.

Her mind clamored around confusedly, trying to remember how she had gotten to this cellar-like room, what had happened to her. The last thing she remembered clearly, she had decided to check on lunch and sent Kal back to the room. She had no idea why she made the sudden decision to go down to the kitchen…it seemed as if the idea came out of nowhere.

_Came out of nowhere…_

…_he appeared in front of her as she was walking down the stairs, coming out of nowhere. All she could glimpse before he grabbed her wrist and pulled her against his chest were a pair of golden eyes staring out of a pale face framed by silver hair; that and his catlike grin._

"_Hello, Princess," he whispered in her ear, and then…_

"I can't remember," Allie muttered out loud, touching one hand to her forehead. There was a cut there, and blood had dried on her face. It was no wonder her head hurt so much. She saw more blood on the packed earth floor, and a small chunk of rock jutting out of the ground. _I must have hit my head on that…but how did I get here? Was that man a demon…of course he was, don't be stupid! Normal men can't appear out of nowhere like he did. I guess he brought me here the same way…_

…_but _why?

"Worry about that later," she told herself, and tried to get her mind together. She had to contact Kal. That was if she could reach him. Who knew how far away she was…what if their link had a certain limit? She closed her eyes and concentrated on that odd feeling in the back of her mind, the one she always had since Kal became her protector.

_Kal? Can you hear me? _she asked experimentally.

No reply.

_Kal! Hello! If you can hear me, _say something! Allie waited, but again got no response. Just then, she could feel a sudden change in the room, as if…

…as if someone was now standing behind her. A hand fell on her shoulder and made her turn around. There, the demon-man who had kidnapped her smiled; in his hand was an ornate silver dagger.

_KAL!_ Allie screamed as loud as she could inside her head. _KALENDRAKK RAEE I'M KIDNAPPED I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE I AM AND YOU AS MY PROTECTOR BETTER BE ABLE TO FIND ME SO COME AS _FAST AS YOU CAN_! HELP-_

"Now, now, let's have none of that," the demon chided, speaking to her as he would to an upset child. A second later, her link to Kal seemed to simply…vanish. "We don't want to be interrupted, do we?"

"I'd like to." Her eyes flicked away from that dagger long enough to notice that her captor didn't seem very old—mid-twenties would be her guess—and that he was attractive, in a wraith-like, fey way. He bowed shallowly, his golden eyes not leaving hers.

"Your opinion doesn't matter much right now, your Highness. And, before I go on, let me say what an honor it is to meet you!"

Allie scooted backwards on the floor. The sharp-toothed grin didn't look quite sane. "It's not an honor to meet you." The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them, and her eyes went nervously to the dagger again. The demon was laughing, however insane the laughter sounded.

"A very mouthy little wench, aren't you? Well, fair Princess; it seems that in all your pampered, short life, no one bothered to correct that, have they?" The laughter left his face very suddenly and he narrowed those glittering, golden eyes at her. "Remember this: I myself am considered a Lord, and this," he swept his arm around the small room, "may not look like much, but it is a part of_ my_ dominion. And, as a rule, demon Lords who also happen to be very powerful sorcerers do not like being offended." He placed a finger under her chin and tiled her head up at him. "Just a piece of advice, _chèrie_." He smiled again and walked around her. She turned in time to see him flick his fingers at the strange power on the floor: some of it had spilled out of the design. At the movement of his fingers, it moved back into place. "Not that you have to worry about shortening your life," he added casually. Despite the warm room, Allie felt cold.

"What," she said, trying to match his airy tones, "do you mean by that, Lord…?"

"Oh! How rude of me not to tell you my name." He repeated the bow he had given her earlier. "It's Jason. Simply that: I won't bother with telling my last name."

"Alright. Lord Jason, then--"

"No need to bother with the title, your Highness. I think I feel rather fond of you, since you'll be helping to bring my Marie back. 'Jason' will do fine."

Allie stood up and backed away from him, blood rushing to her cramped legs and bringing that pins-and-needles sensation. "I'll be doing _what_?"

Jason held the dagger up. The light from the oil lamps gleamed fluidly on the polished silver. "I don't think you should be concerned with the details, Allie—I don't think it's improper for me to call you Allie, since I've allowed you to call me Jason, do you?—so just think of it as…a trade."

Allie liked this less and less by the second…not that she had liked at all in the first place. "What kind of trade?" she asked, trying to stall for time.

He shrugged on shoulder casually. "Simply a death for a life…or a life for a life, if you prefer that. I myself would call that a 'trade', Allie."

Allie swallowed. Her throat made a dry clicking noise that Jason seemed to hear, because he smiled at her. It was the type of smile a cat seems to wear as it plays with the mouse before killing it.

"Thirsty? Yes, being a sacrifice does work up a good thirst!" he cackled. "Not to worry, you won't have to worry about that much longer."

"A…a sacrifice? To bring back the dead?"

"Yes, I thought I said that. Are you stupid as well as mouthy, Allie?"

She edged further back; soon, she would be against the wall. There was only one door she could see, and that was the one on the other side of the room, Jason's side. Why hadn't she thought to go through it before? _Time, Allie, for goodness sake stall for more time! Kal _must _have heard you. He'll come. He has to. All you need to do is make more time. _"I was told," she said, "that bringing the dead back to life is impossible."

"Told by whom?" Jason stood next to that odd rune, from time to time tracing a little symbol in the air with a slim forefinger; faint, glimmering silver light followed the tip and hung a moment in the air before fading away. Allie could recognize them as bind runes from what she'd learned at the Inn: he was sealing the magic in the rune, most likely so none would spill out.

"Ah…" Would it be dangerous to the demons at the Inn to give him their names? "…just some…spell-casters. That's all."

"Really?" He arched a silver-grey eyebrow. "Who were these spell-casters, now? The town hedge-witches or mid-wives?" His hand, she noticed, had tightened on the dagger. Probably not a good sign. "Fools, all of them! It is _not_ impossible to bring the dead back, and I will prove it. By all my studies, it is possible, but none of those cowards were strong enough to try it! Well, _I_ have written the right spell and have enough power. I will bring Marie back. _I_ will not let her stay dead and forgotten by all—save for me!"

_He's crazy_, Allie thought despairingly. _Oh dear God, I'm about to be killed by a maniacal demon sorcerer who believes he can raise the dead._

Jason lifted the dagger and approached her quickly, the light glimmering in his eyes turning to fire. "I_ will_ have my Marie alive!"

She ducked…

* * *

Kal left the room through the window moments before Allie's two friends came in, panicked and more than ready (well, Mel was, at least) to drag out whatever information they believed Kal to be holding back by force. After all, when your best friend is kidnapped, the only logical assumption would be that the person who had seen her last had done it, right? Especially if the person in question happened to be an evil demon with a long list of murders to his name.

He had heard her, sure enough: the scream she had sent, through their link, had been enough to leave his ears ringing, and a bit more than a little dizzy. After he had gotten his wits about him, he opened the window (shattering a pan in the process) and jumped out, his wings unfurling in mid-air. By the time Mel and Kelly had rushed to the window, he was a black spot against the sky.

Kal felt along his link with her, meaning to try, for the first time in quite a while, to see through her eyes. He had no idea if it would work, as he had his own sight when he'd tried that experiment. Whether worked or not, he didn't find out that day: it seemed as if there was almost a wall in the way. No, not a wall…it was more like layers of thick, opaque cobwebs had suddenly appeared. _Besides,_ he thought, _what good would that do? She said she had no idea where she was._

He was now flying in large, lazy circles, like a very strange bird of prey. Her order was banging around in his head, making him want to obey…but what could he do? He had no idea where she was or who had captured her. On top of that, he had no magical skills he could use to track her down…_and I'm blind, gods damn it all!_

No magical skills…something about that_**…even more powerful than hers**_** …**that he couldn't quite remember. It seemed to be dancing in his mind, just out of his reach. It seemed as if..._**dozens of times more powerful…**_as if he_ knew_ something, something important, something that…_**used it to block out nearly all of his emotions…**_was from the thirteenth. Not from his memory, but hers, Allie's. It was something she had seen in his mind…

…_**magic was so powerful that it blocked out nearly everything…**_

…_**the strongest magic has a limit…**_

Kal found was he was searching for in his mind so suddenly that it nearly surprised him out of flight. He didn't remain in the sky, though: he folded his deadly wings against his back and dived to the ground, Allie's command and that memory of hers echoing around in his head.

Being blind, he should have known better than to dive…he pulled out too late, and crashed into the dirt as a result, his steel-like feathers cutting into his back. If luck was kind, he hadn't landed in some road. Kal didn't think so; he could hear humans, but a good ways off. He heard them and acknowledged it distantly, and without must interest.

_My emotions…everything...blocked by my magic! _

_So ironic! _

Wild laughter bubbled up his throat, and he swallowed it. He'd laugh later, when his hands were wet and warm with whomever's blood it was that had kidnapped the Princess. _All this time…oh, what irony!_

_If I could take some of that barrier away…just a small bit…enough to brake whatever's blocking our link.._

_No. That would be pointless. But…if I could look through her eyes…see who her captor was…_

_And if I were to use enough magic to look into _his_ mind…_

He made up his decision and began planning, quickly.

Not all that far away, Jason was raising the silver dagger, determined to cut Allie's heart out.


	36. Chapter 35

A/N:…………….umm….…doom?

:-3

"A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."

-Hannibal Lecter, "Silence of the Lambs"

* * *

Allie threw up her hands in pure reflex, knowing that sticking her hands out in front of her wouldn't stop the dagger from coming and with no time to do anything else.

When she didn't; feel the cold steel cutting through her hands, she peeked through the gaps in her fingers. _Oh…I forgot I could do that_, she though with faint relief. Jason narrowed his eyes in frustration and struck at her shield of magical energy: to her horror, she saw it give slightly. _Kal, where are you?_

The shield dissolved.

"None of your cute _party-tricks,_" Jason sneered, "are going to work with _me_, Allie. Why don't you save us both the trouble and die quietly?" He punctuated his last word with another sweep of the dagger. This time, she ducked, and the blade missed her by inches.

"Why don't _you_?" Allie replied childishly. She conjured another half-circle of a shield and took the opportunity to glace around the room: something, anything that could work as a weapon…? No.

_But what about that rune on the floor? He fixed it when the powder—whatever it is—spilled over…what if I destroyed it? Would it buy me any more time?_

Allie licked her fingers at the design, as Jason had done. The powder, dust, whatever, blew out of shape. She ran to the other side of the room while he was distracted.

Unfortunately, he didn't remain that way for long…say, a second or two. All she had succeeding in doing was irritating him further. _Not a good thing._ "If you thought that was going to work," he said, re-arranging it casually while he spoke, "you're very stupid. And rude. It's not very polite to go around wrecking other people's runes, you know."

"You have a really weird idea of what's rude!" she snapped, barely managing to throw up another shield. For a moment, the two were face to face, and Allie thought, for a moment, she saw something flicker in his eyes. It was too slight to be sure, and the next instant he had taken a step back.

For a second, she could have sworn she saw one of his eyes (the left one to be specific) turn a light shade of purple.

Jason shook his head impatiently, as if trying to clear it. "Look, now you've given me a headache, you wretch!" he said angrily. She knew that that _she_ hadn't given him the headache, and felt hope well up inside her.

* * *

The eyes that Kal looked through were less sharp than his own had been, but it was euphoric to be able to see again. He looked through the demon's eyes and saw the Princess…and, back in his physical body, clenched one hand. The pain his claws brought made it easier to look away from her and to focus on the task at hand. He lingered a second longer, then dove into the demon's thoughts and memories.

Kal could "see" the demon, whose name was Jason (_Lord _Jason was the name he gave people, for he was from a royal bloodline), kidnap Allie. He wanted her for a sacrifice, to bring back his dead fiancée. Kal could see in Jason's mind where his underground castle (so large that it could be considered a city) was, and which room he was now dueling with the Princess; a room further underground, in the castle's basement.

And he saw that Jason had been growing steadily more insane with each passing year.

Kal blinked and was once again sitting on the ground, sightless. He wiped the blood off his hand and set out in the direction of where Allie was.

He had anticipated being unable to fly, especially with the barrier holding his emotions back diminishing, but he found that the throbbing of his injured hand drew his mind away from that somewhat. He had always lived with the pain of his injuries easily, ignoring them so that they eventually seemed to go away, but now he focused on the pain, on the smell of blood. There was a memory…an echo of thought that danced away from him whenever he reached for it…and it had to do with the thirteenth, when his emotions went unchecked.

Kal didn't want to know which emotion it was that the memory was connected to.

He set out a string of his magic, directing it to the underground castle of Jason's. It weakened that barrier even more, but now he flew faster, following it. Closer to Jason and to the—

--_don't think about her, focus on the pain,_ he told himself. Before he could stop himself, he sent her a silent message through their link:

_**-wait a bit longer, I'm on my way-**_

* * *

Allie jerked in surprise at hearing his voice—wasn't their link broken? Trying to keep her mind shielded, she tested it herself. _Can you hear me?_

_**-very faintly, yes—duck!-**_

Allie dropped to the ground without questioning how he could know what was happening (he was _blind_) in time to avoid another attack from Jason. Her eyes coincidentally fell on her heavy, hard leather shoes. _Weaponless, am I? _ "Jason!" she said, standing up.

"What? Have you decided to die quietly yet?" he said impatiently.

"Would you consider it 'rude' if I went and…" Allie kicked him where his legs met.

Hard.

* * *

Kal tuned a corner and ran into something that came up to about his ribcage—before it could yell, he tore its throat out. _By the stench of its blood, probably a goblin,_ he thought absently as ran down another long corridor he couldn't see. Goblins were favored by many demons as servants…though not as much as humans. The latter were much more fun to toy with.

He sensed a flash of triumph and a bit of amusement from the Princess. _**–having fun, now?-**_

_What? No!…maybe just a bit. Are you closer?_

_**-just another minute- **_Kal sped up a bit. He wished his limp wouldn't hamper him as much...if he had a choice, he'd fly, but as it was, the corridor was too narrow.

Kal ran into a few more goblins and got rid of them quickly enough. One servant tried to stop him—he sensed it was a _drakki'a yanzirii _(its title in his own language), a creature created by magic, neither human nor demon or anything else naturally born, though they usually started out as human. Demons, especially sorcerers like Jason, usually got bored with their human servants and used a special brand of transforming magic to turn them. It took a good deal of skill, too, for most of the creatures usually lost all sanity during the first few hours.

Kal did the creature a favor and broke its neck.

It was easier to concentrate—he figured that, since he was using little magic, the barrier was repairing itself…and, he guessed, the barrier on his memories connected to that. Already they were fuzzy. By tomorrow, he would have no idea about his magic and the barrier it formed. _Good._

He slowed down a bit now, trailing one bloody hand on the wall to his left. In a few seconds, he would feel a door, the hidden door that only Jason knew about. _Right…about…_here. Kal sensed Allie standing on the other side of the wall. _**–move to the right a bit-**_ he said, clamping down on his unwanted emotions_**. –better yet, just go sit in a corner somewhere—don't want to get any bloodstains on your dress, do you?-**_

Allie took Kal's advice and backed into a corner, not caring at the moment about the dirt. She tried to wipe the smile off of her face, but really couldn't help it—Jason had it coming.

What looked like a section of the wall opened, as if on hinges. Kal motioned towards the door with a bloody hand. "Want to get a head-start?"

"What are you doing here, Kalendrakk?" Jason spat, trying to regain some composure. Tow pink spots bloomed high on his death-pale face…the look on which was far from happy.

He shrugged casually. "To kill you, idiot. Now, I'm not like you—you seem to like people to die quietly." He grinned broadly, exposing his fangs. "I don't. I want to see how long I can keep you screaming in agony."

"Not likely." Jason re-appeared next to Allie and laid the dagger over her throat. "I don't know what you want with this wretch, but you can't have her."

* * *

Allie tried not to move nay other part of her body and bend her knee at the same time—maybe if she stomped on his foot (he was wearing a pair of soft leather boots), it'd be enough to make him let go…

Instead, the knife pressed a little harder on her throat. "Don't you even think about it."

Kal took a step forward. "Let her go." The tone of his voice was casual, as if he was asking Jason to please pass the butter.

"What do you want with her, Kalendrakk? To kill her? Of course you do. You don't have to pretend to be her friend, if that's what you were doing—she'll be dead soon enough."

Allie saw Kal bite the inside of his cheek; a vein was pulsing on his forehead. "_Sa drohzen'tuu__-kiiyen,_ I'll give you a fair warning: if you don't drop your hands and let her go, you will get to see your entrails spilling onto your boots."

"Unlikely." A pause. "You _don't_ want to kill her, do you?" It wasn't a question.

"I just want the pleasure of slitting that blonde wench's throat," Kal growled, but something flickered in his eyes, almost too slight for Allie to catch it. Jason noticed it, though.

"Tell me: what do you want with this human girl?" he asked curiously. "A pet, perhaps?"

Kal made to rush at them, and Jason pricked her throat. "Now, don't be so _rash, _Kalendrakk." The blood that ran down her throat gave Allie a sense of déjà-vu: Kal's hands around her throat, meaning to kill her.

"Kal--"

"Quiet, Allie," Jason said, "you don't want to make my hand slip, do you?"

Kal flicked blood off of his hand. "And what if I said I was _her_ pet? And if I really had no choice in what I do or don't do right now?"

"Liar."

Kal shrugged. "Believe what you want…but even if you do kill her, she's already ordered me to kill you…so you die either way, kiiyen."

Jason laughed. "Oh, really? Kalendrakk, a pet? I never thought you had a sense of humor!" His hand loosened a bit…not enough for her to break away, not yet. _Kal hurry up!_

"I do," Kal agreed "I find things--you, say—dead, very funny. Hilarious, really. Why not fight me, eh? Maybe you'll get lucky."

"Lucky, huh?" He was grinning manically again—Allie could tell, just by the sound of his voice. "Want to know who I think is going to be lucky today?"

"No," he growled, and took another step forward.

"Allie here, if she dies quickly."

Two things happened at once, then: Kal jumped at them, and Jason slit her throat. She made a choking noise and fell towards Kal, blood pouring down the front of her dress. She couldn't breathe—when she tried, she simply gagged on the blood. And God, it hurt! It soon stopped hurting, replaced by shock. She could feel herself loosing consciousness and was barely aware that Kal was cradling her in one arm like a small child. Allie saw Jason freeze, and Kal lashed out at him, his hand a blur. Jason seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in and snap back at the last minute—Kal still hit him, but he didn't slice the demon in half, as he would have done if Jason had moved back at the last second. Jason clamped a hand over his bloody middle and disappeared. All this happened very quickly, but to Allie, it seemed like it was going in slow-motion.

_I'm dying_, she thought, panicky. _Oh damn, I'm dying…_ Black spots bloomed in her vision, and then covered it completely.

* * *

Allie was only out for a minute, maybe less. She opened her eyes, expecting to be in heaven or whatever afterlife there was, and instead found herself looking at Kal.

She was breathing.

"You dead to?" she muttered.

"You're not dead, _kiiyen_." Kal was sucking on his bottom lip—he had bitten all the way through it.

"I'm…not?" Allie reached up and felt her throat: it was perfectly smooth. She didn't even feel a scar. Bloody, yes; her entire from was soaked in her own blood—but _alive. _"How…what…did I heal myself?"

"I did." He narrowed his eyes. "I froze that bastard, but he got away." He stood up—he was kneeling on the ground. He walked out the door, still holding her bride-style. "You'll be fine. A little dizzy from blood loss, that's all."

"But—you—how--"

"Forget it, Princess." Kal walked through the winding hallways without bumping into anything even once. "Just be glad you're alive."

"But my throat was _slit_!" she protested, rubbing the spot in question. "And you—you can't use magic--!" Her eyes widened: she had just looked into his mind, where the barrier was weak—barely even there, in fact. "Oh."

"Don't talk to me," he said shortly. "I might do something we'll both regret."

Allie sat back in his arms and wondered silently if he remembered what he did on the 13th—probably not. She hoped so.

_I could've sworn I was dying…and he stopped that? How much magic did he use? And just how powerful to you have to be to stop something like that?_

Finally, he went up a staircase and opened a door above their heads, showering them both with a flood of water. It was raining outside; storming, actually. Allie blinked and put her hands over her head to try and keep the rain out of her eyes; Kal just stood where he was, letting the rain fall on his face. Then he set her down, suddenly enough that she had trouble getting her footing on the slippery grass. "What now?"

Kal hugged her, tightly enough she could envision her bones snapping like kindling with no difficulty at all. "You're never leaving my sight again!" he growled. _Sight being a manner of speech_, she thought, wincing as her back cracked. "Hear me?"

"I hear you," she croaked. "Kal, d'you think you could--"

"Never," he repeated angrily, and held her at arm's-length. For a second, she thought he was going to kiss her again, but he just scooped her into his arms and took off into flight.

They spent the trip back in silence.

* * *

A/N: woah, this chappie was late...

I think I'm about to wrap this story up.


	37. Chapter 36Last Interlude

A/N: Only one more chapter to go. After this one, I mean.

And then it's moving on to the next part Gabe n' Lizzy's story.

Woohoo!

Veilen Dank for all of the awesome reviews!

"This is the life, you see  
The Devil tips his hat to me  
I do it all because I'm evil  
And I do it all for free  
Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need"

-"When You're Evil", by Voltaire (freakin' amazing song, by the way)

* * *

The masquerade ball looked like something out of a dream—everywhere, the unmoving expressions of the masks stared over the laughing mouths of the party-goers. Silks and velvets and furs swirled around in dizzying circles; hair and wigs and headdresses spun. The orchestra played, seemingly nonstop, at the far corner of the room. The long, mahogany table along the wall seemed as if it would groan, for all the food and drink piled onto it.

Those who did not dance stood off to the side, their wineglasses held in gloved and ring-encrusted hands. The ladies fanned themselves elegantly with fans—they sweat beneath their masks, but, of course those would not be removed until the stroke of midnight. The men, without the benefits of fans, grin and bear it. For, after all, this is a party, a _masquerade_ party—these aristocrats, dukes, comptes, lords, and ladies, would not let a trivial thing such as perspiration get in the way of a bit of All-Hallow's Eve celebration.

Bits and snips of gossip are can be heard over the orchestra: carefree conversations punctuated often by raucous laughter (helped along by the broad selection of wines on the food-table).

"…have you seen Natalie? Right there, she's with…"

"D'Arcy! Come over here, I want you to meet…"

"Helene! Such a lovely costume, dear!"

"Louis? Would you be a darling and go tell…"

"…Allie? No, chére, I haven't seen her."

Dressed in a rich crimson dress with golden accents, wearing a pale white mask over her eyes and the bridge of her nose, Mel shrugged a bare shoulder: "well, what can you do?", the shrug conveys. Her mother, dressed in a black and white gown, with a golden porcelain mask sculpted to the top three-quarters of her face, smiled sympathetically at her daughter, her hazel eyes line with black makeup.

"I'll be sure to tell her you were looking for her if I see her," she said, and turned around to face a person who had tapped her shoulder. "_Bon soir_, Patrice! Is that you under your mask, or your twin?"

Mel sighed and went off. It was a chore to walk on one side of the room, without being swept up by the dancing crowd of people. She could spot Jordan, dressed as the Joker from the playing cards, waltzing gamely with Kelly, who wore gauzy layers of different shades of green, with a mask that had cat-like eyeholes. She didn't see Keith—not at first. She soon spotted him dancing with a cousin of his, laughing.

That left Allie. She had promised to come, and to meet the group at ten o'clock. It was half past that hour, now, and Allie was nowhere to be seen…or her demon, Kal.

That day he carried her back—the day when she had "disappeared"—Mel had simply snapped—not irrationally, either. For God's sake, Allie had been drenched with _blood_! It wasn't a cut or graze, as Allie was prone to get every once in a while (hence, "Disaster Destra"). Her entire front was practically _dripping_ blood.

And then there was that way he had been staring…he stared off into space for the entire time, from when Mel had first panicked, then shouted and swore. But, occasionally, his eyes (Mel had no way of knowing he was blind), would flick over to the bedroom door, where a maid had guided Allie out of the room to get her new clothes). That_ look_…Mel had shrugged it off and finally stormed out of the room, telling herself she was just upset and not thinking or seeing things rationally. For instance, Kal—that arrogant, heartless, scum of a living creature—could not have stared after Allie with the same expression she had, on occasion, seen Keith wear when he watched Kelly leave the room…the expression of affection. Of course a thing like that Kal couldn't feel affection, or caring, or—God forbid—love. Could he?

A hand tapped her shoulder, startling her. She whirled around to meet a pale blue mask, and, below that, a pixie-ish grin.

Allie's hair had been piled up on her head, with a few strands let loose around her face. Her dress, a creation of sky-blue silk, had a small stain of wine on the waist of the bodice-like top, but other than that, was exactly the dress she had chosen, with her and Mel. The mask had yellow eyebrows painted on in an eternally surprised expression—this, added with her grin, drew a laugh out of Mel.

"I was wondering where you were!" Mel exclaimed, and hugged her (carefully, as not to muss either of their dresses or hair). "You're a bit late."

"Late?" Allie had a puzzled expression on her face. "We came at ten, just as you said! I've been looking _all over_ for you and the group!"

"Ironically, I've been_ looking_ for you!" Mel laughed. "Oh, you said 'we'. Did Kal come, too?" She had to use some effort to keep her tone casual.

"No." If Mel noticed the slightest pause in Allie's response, she didn't show any sign of it.

"Really? Did you come with a different escort, then?"

Allie blushed bright pink—something that could easily be translated as bashfulness instead of being caught in a lie. "Actually, yes—that man over there, see?" She pointed to the food table, where a tall man was pouring himself a glass of Tokay. He wore a red fedora with an ostrich plume stuck into it. A heavy velvet cape of velvet crimson hung to his boot heels. He took a sip from the glass, and half-turned to them as he drank: his poet's shirt was white, and the brocade vest was the same red as his cape. His pants were black and pinstriped. A black porcelain mask covered his three corners of his face—it appeared to be smiling, with the eyeholes turned into half-moons and the cheeks rounded.

"And who may_ that _be?" Mel asked. The stranger (or, so she thought), turned towards them as if hearing her, and raised a hand in salute. They waved back as he crossed the room, in easy strides.

Allie waited until he had reached them for the introductions. "Mel, I'd like you to meet Reymond Mort. Reymond, this is my friend, Mel."

"Reymond" bowed extravagantly, sweeping his plumed hat off his head. "My pleasure, Mademoiselle." He replaced the hat over his shoulder-length brown hair and hung a arm casually around Allie's shoulders, confirming her suspicions that he was her friend's beau. Something did cross her mind, for a second: his eyes. For a moment, the looked…well, she couldn't put her finger on it, for it had come in gone in a split-second.

Mel smiled warmly at Reymond. "As is mine," she answered, and curtsied. He smiled broadly (it was a nice smile—_not arrogant and fang-filled and predatory like Kal's, _she thought), and nodded politely.

"Now, if the hostess would excuse us," he said, addressing Allie, "I would very much like to steal a dance from you."

Mel grinned—already, she approved of Reymond Mort. "By all means. It was nice meeting you, M. Reymond."

He swept his hat off again and leaded her friend into back to the center of the dance floor.

Mel stood off to the side and watched them, trying to be horribly obvious about doing such. Allie's Reymond waltzed gracefully in spite of the heavy cloak—not once did he trip over said cloak. Or miss a step.

_Well-manned, courteous, handsome, _and_ a good dancer. _

_He's the perfect match for her._

* * *

"Allison Destra." "Reymond Mort" steered them around another dancing couple. "You, Princess, are the devil."

Allie grinned and glanced over her shoulder: Mel was watching them. "You mean I'm a genius."

"Of course," he drawled, sarcasm dripping from his magically-adjusted voice. "Kalendrakk Raee, do this. Kalendrakk Raee, do that. Kalendrakk Raee, act like a perfect French gentleman for the entire ball and allow me to put enough glamour on you to choke. Ah, I _do_ adore this little game. When, may I ask, does this Kalendrakk Raee get to cuss and kill?"

"Maybe another time." Allie stared at his partially-concealed face, admiring her handiwork. One looking at the handsome, but perfectly normal face would never have recognized it to be Kal, under layers of illusion-magic, applied in layers like makeup. Mel certainly hadn't. "Why not just enjoy the evening, Reymond?"

"That _name_!" The song ended, and everyone applauded politely. The next song was even more upbeat than the former, bringing them into another dance. Kal eyed her through the mask. "Must we dance to this one, as well?"

"Yes. We're a couple, remember?"

"If only it were possible for me to forget." He swept his cape behind him dramatically and bowed. "If you please, then." As an after thought, he added "Gods, I detest this voice—when, exactly, is that little magic trick being dropped?"

"It all depends," she said cheerfully.

"On?"

"When I decide to." Allie swallowed, and heard her throat click. "On second thought, _Reymond,_ I think I could use a drink. Come on." She grabbed his hand (gloved for that particular reason), and helped him though the crowd, back to the refreshment table. "Oh, you were saying something? Before the song ended?

"Yes. I was about to go into depths about how much I detest this name—how does one, I wonder, get 'Reymond' from 'Raee'?"

"In my defense." Allie replied, pouring herself a goblet of white wine, "they both sound alike. And, besides, why are you complaining so much after I went though all this trouble to get you in?" She caught sight of Jordan and Kelly, on the other side of the room, and waved cheerfully at them. Kal gazed off into the distance, where a person happened to be standing. From that woman's point of view, it appeared as if Kal were staring directly into her eyes. She colored and quickly turned around, making conversation with a random person.

"I have absolutely no idea."

Allie sighed, not unhappily—her mood was too good to be ruined by Kal's grumbling. "You and your sarcasm."

Kal rolled his eyes—that poor woman had unfortunately turned around, and again, it appeared as if Kal was looking at her, only this time rolling his eyes in a annoyed matter—and linked his arm through hers. "Now, Princess, me and my sarcasm will dance with you until the unmasking; I wonder if your weak human legs will be able to handle that."

She pretended to swoon and leaned all her weight on his arm. "But then, you, Reymond, my knight in shining armor, will get to carry me around until I recover."

"Ha. Ha."

Allie mimicked his sarcastic drawl. "Such a charming laugh."

"I've been working on it for _years_, can't you tell?"

"Shut up and dance.

The clock, hung strategically on the end wall of the room, ticked on steadily, unaware of the people that flocked around it and followed the minute hand as it neared the twelve. It was only a matter of seconds, now: the ballroom rang as everyone counted down in time with the second hand.

"Quatre…

"Trois…

"Deux…

"Un…"

A split second pause; they were only a little bit off.

The clock struck midnight, and the happy yells mixed with the chimes: "Unmask! Unmask!"

In the center of the crowd, Allie removed her own mask, still chanting "Unmask!" Caught up in the noise and the laughter, she missed the devilish grin that Kal wore on his face.

He unmasked; and, along with the porcelain mask, came the illusion magic. He threw the mask high into the air, threw back his head, and laughed. The screams, the not-so-happy screams as the guests noticed him, made him laugh harder. "Unmask!" He shouted in is own language at the top of his lungs, feeling half-crazy. A little more than half. And giddy—it hadn't been an easy trick to remove all that magic.

"Great party!" Kal yelled over the chaos. "Sorry to leave so soon!" He scooped up Allie and caught Kelly's scent through the others in the crowd. "Au revoir to you, Mlle. Kelly—give Mel my love, will you?"

"Kal--" Allie started.

He shrugged off the cape gratefully (it had been a nuisance the whole evening) and let his wings tear through his shirt. A moment later, Mel's parents were short a balcony door, and he was flying under the clouds.

"You were saying?"

"Was that really necessary?" She tried to sound exasperated, he noticed, but he knew she was grinning in spite of herself.

Kal shrugged one shoulder. "Maybe not. Either way, I don't think they'll forget that little party anytime soon." A familiar caw came from his left side. "Decided to come along, did you Simon?"

_Stop mocking me,_ Death grumbled. _I find it very degrading._

Allie elbowed Kal in the ribs. "Wait a minute. 'Decided to come along'? What, are we…"

He smiled. "I _told_ you I was getting fed up with that manor." Before she could start up a good argument, he added "I was thinking we could spend a little while by the ocean."

Allie considered that for a moment. "Just a little while, right?"

"It all depends on what I decide."

"Very funny." She took the pins out of her hair and let it fall around her shoulders; the wind made her regret it when it picked it up and threw it back in her face. "Looks like I'll be stuck with you for a while, then."

"No, _really?"_

"Shut up," she replied cheerfully. "If you keep that annoying sarcasm, I'll have to order you to do something like braid your hair."

"Evil, evil girl."

Kal let the conversation drop and flew in the direction he had been going: the faint scent of salty water he had been following was a little stronger. After a while of silence, he'd thought she had fallen asleep: it certainly wouldn't have been the first time that happened.

"Kal? I think I should tell you something. You--"

"Don't."

She sat up, indignant at being interrupted. "You didn't even let me finish my sentence!"

"You're going to tell me that I really _am _a good man inside, I _can_ feel emotions, and that my magic is weak because it's blocking those things, ain't you?" He grinned at the surprise he felt from her. "Forget it, Princess—_I_ will. Because, if you want the truth…" Kal trailed off into silence, drawing out the suspense.

"What?" She snapped impatiently. "Tell me!"

"I'm evil in more ways than that," he finished simply. "You think that, with the infamous 'curse' removed, I would loose my bloodlust?" He tilted his head down at her and smiled. "You naïve little Princess."

Allie grumbled something intelligible and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Speak up, Princess."

Allie huffed and elbowed him in the ribs. "You'll come around_. Kiiyen_."

Kal shook his head, laughing. "We'll see about that. In the meantime--" He pressed his lips briefly over hers. "I'll forget that too, so don't mention it."

Allie scrubbed the blood off her lips. "Hey!"

"What are going to do about it?" he chided. "_Kill_ me?"

"Here we go again," she sighed theatrically.

_Death had dropped behind from pure shock of seeing Kalendrakk kiss Allie, and didn't bother to catch up—his poor old bird's heart needed time to recover—and watched as Kal conjured up a fog (passing over towns, this was a good idea). _

_The raven in the fog chuckled and said something to the girl, who responded in the same language. She definitely would not kill him now, even if she had intended to earlier. _

_In the last copy of the book, written by Xeth of the fallen Rehniika Yanzirii, the prophecy was changing._

**END**

* * *

Elizabeth blinked in surprise. "That can't be it!"

But it was: all that remained in _Raven in the Fog _was the blank page separating it from the back cover.

"How did they end up in Paris? And what about--"

Gabriel laughed softly and closed the book. "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough, ange. They _are_ attending our wedding, remember?"

She sighed and collapsed against his arm. "I think they ended it like that on purpose! I'll bet you that, back in Paris, they're laughing."

Gabriel laughed again and embraced her, but absently; his mind was on a certain part from the book.

Jason had first seen Allison in his seeing-orb, but Kal and Allie had written that it would have shown him Elizabeth second. Gabriel looked down at her face and wondered. _Something about her I have no idea about. When those two arrive, I'll have to ask them about that…_

"Gabriel? Are you alright?"

He realized he was staring at her. "Forgive me, ange—my mind just drifted off."

"It's getting a little late in the day," she admitted. That was an understatement: dusk was beginning to fall.

"Supper must be about ready—are you hungry?" Her stomach answered for her well enough that she turned bright pink.

"You?"

"Rhetorical question, ange, but I'll sit at the table with you anyways—you know that I can't bear to part with you for more than a few minutes."

She giggled and yanked on his arm, getting to her feet herself. "Come on then, before I end up eating the books!"

He had gotten used to walking slowly, so he managed to match her pace. Slow enough that he was able to get a clear look at his face in the polished wood doors of the library; he didn't recognize it, immediately.

It was a _human's_ face.

His hand reached up to feel his face, and felt the human-animal hybrid of features that had become familiar to him over the years. _What in the world…? _Gabriel blinked once, hard, and looked back at the reflection. What he thought of as a monster looked back at him once more.

"Are you coming?" Elizabeth called from down the hall. He shook himself mentally and smiled naturally enough.

"Of course—I believe I'm in need of some coffee." To himself, he said _Or some very, very strong wine. Something, anyways, to wake me up—I'm simply drowsy. From all the reading._

"Gabriel? Are you sure you're alright?" she asked carefully.

"Another rhetorical question—I'm standing next to an angel. Of course I'm alright."

_Just your mind playing tricks on you._


	38. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**Paris**

"Do you think they've finished the book yet?"

Kal shrugged and twirled his violin bow between his fingers. "Probably—they have nothing else to do other than read, I guess. Sad thing is, they don't mind it."

Allie tried to stifle her laugh and compromised with choking on her tea. "T-that's not _nice_!" She wiped off her chin and set the cup down; it was half-empty, anyways. "What I was meaning to ask was, how upset are they going to be that we left out a year?"

"It's not like it's interesting." Tapping the bow against the table, he levitated the teapot towards himself and made it fill his cup. "They know a bit of it—what would be the point? Myself, I thought it would be boring to write all that in."

"Were too lazy to, I think you mean."

"Maybe I just didn't want you going through my memories for that."

"Embarrassment? From _you?_" She eyed her cup. "Did I slip something into the tea?"

"Other than the usual putrid herbs? No, I doubt it." Despite his comment, he finished his cup. "As for the two bookworms, they can figure the rest out for themselves. And, when we go there, you get to help Elizabeth with her magic."

"Why not _you_?"

"'Cause I don't want to, Princess. Besides, you could gossip together about flowers and sunshine or whatever it is that goes through your fluff-brained head." Kal stood and crossed the table. "I'm going to 'fiddle' a bit. Pun intended."

"Ha ha. So kind of you, leaving me to do the dishes."

"Your turn anyway, Princess." He let his hand pass over her head when he passed her, messing it up considerably.

He heard her sigh dramatically and push her chair back. "Fine. But you, Kalendrakk Raee, will be making breakfast."

"Human hearts and liver it is, then."

He closed the bedroom door behind him and unconsciously felt his hand—the one he'd mussed her hair with—with his other. It was odd, not being burnt anymore…but he wasn't complaining.

* * *

Kal lost track of time, as he usually did, and when he looked at the clock, three hours had passed and his hands were cramped. He set the violin away and cracked his neck and spine.

On the windowsill, Death blinked at him. _I've never heard _that_ song before._

"You wouldn't have—I've only been working on it in my head."

_It's…different from what you usually play._

"If you mean it's not the genre I use to lure innocent humans to their death for the fun of it, then I guess it is. Why don't you mind your own business though, eh, you flea-bitten crow?"

_Good-night to you too, Kal._

He shoved the violin under his bed and then left the bedroom.

Allie was already asleep—had been for a while, most likely—when he closed the door behind him. She turned over once when he lay down next to her, and they stayed like that for the rest of the night, Kal's hand resting on hers.

And for once, she didn't snore.

* * *

**Final A/N**

Thanks to everyone for all the awesome, funny, plotbunnie-inspiring reviews, and the feedback on everything. Especially thanks for the ideas. I wasn't planning on Kal/Allie fluff, but it turned out half-decent, I thinks.

And as for Liz and Gabe….well, you'll just have to find out for yourselves!

Thanks again!

-Kurai


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